Synthesis of ultra-thin nanobelt-like vanadium-oxide and its abnormal optical-electrical properties

The transport and optical response can be easily modulated in low-dimensional structures which makes them potential candidates for future technologies. Therefore, a variety of 2-dimensional nanostructures of different metal oxides were designed for a large number of applications such as energy storage, transparent electrodes, solar cells, etc. In this study, ultra-thin vanadium-oxide nanobelts were fabricated by the chemical exfoliation method (a top-down approach), and their structure, electrical, and optical properties were investigated. The nanobelts exhibited excellent structural and morphological stability even at high temperatures. Surprisingly, the metal-insulator transition was absent in vanadium oxide nanobelts, contrary to 3-dimensional vanadium dioxide structures (metal-insulator transition around 68 °C). The electrical behavior of 2-dimensionally structured vanadium oxide nanobelts was well described by thermally activated transport phenomena. The optical band gap was estimated to be ∼2.1 eV. The unique morphology (nanobelt-like) and unusual electrical-optical properties make this material a worthy candidate for applications in the electronic industry.