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Divanadium trioxide is a reduced vanadium oxide in which vanadium is present predominantly in the +3 oxidation state.
Divanadium trioxide is a black, high-melting inorganic solid used principally in vanadium metallurgy, alloy manufacture and the preparation of vanadium nitrides, carbides, carbonitrides and high-purity vanadium materials.
Divanadium trioxide also has specialised value in correlated-electron research, thin films, electrochemical materials and redox-active catalyst development because its phase behaviour is highly sensitive to oxygen stoichiometry, temperature, pressure and doping.
CHEMICAL IDENTITY AND COMMON NAMES
Divanadium trioxide has the stoichiometric formula V2O3 and contains two V3+ ions for every three oxide ions.
Vanadium(III) oxide and vanadium sesquioxide are the most widely used alternative names.
The name vanadium oxide without an oxidation state is insufficiently specific because vanadium also forms VO, VO2, V2O5 and numerous intermediate Magnéli phases.
The naturally occurring mineral form of Divanadium trioxide is karelianite.
Natural karelianite can contain chromium, iron or other lattice substitutions and is not equivalent to a controlled-purity synthetic grade.
Synonyms and Common Names: Vanadium(III) oxide, Vanadium trioxide, Vanadium sesquioxide, Vanadous oxide, Vanadium(3+) oxide, Vanadium(3) oxide, Vanadium oxide (V2O3), Divanadiumtrioxide, V2O3, O3V2, oxo(oxovanadiooxy)vanadium, oxo[(oxovanadio)oxy]vanadium, Karelianite
TECHNICAL IDENTIFICATION
CAS Number: 1314-34-7
EC / EINECS Number: 215-230-9
Molecular Formula: V2O3
Molar Mass: 149.88 g/mol
Theoretical Vanadium Content: Approximately 67.98% by mass
Vanadium Oxidation State: +3
Chemical Class: Transition-metal oxide and basic vanadium oxide
Systematic Name: Oxo(oxovanadiooxy)vanadium
Crystal Structure at Room Temperature: Trigonal corundum type
Room-Temperature Space Group: R-3c
Low-Temperature Crystal Structure: Monoclinic
Low-Temperature Space Group: C2/c
InChIKey: KFAFTZQGYMGWLU-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES: O=[V]O[V]=O
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Physical State: Solid
Appearance: Black to dark grey crystalline powder, granules, chunks or compacted material
Odour: Odourless
Melting Point: Approximately 1940–1970 °C
Density: Approximately 4.87 g/cm³ at 25 °C
Water Solubility: Very low, approximately 0.01 g/100 mL at 20 °C
Acid Behaviour: Reacts with acids to form trivalent vanadium species
Vapour Pressure: Negligible at ambient temperature
Flash Point: Not applicable to the inorganic solid
Room-Temperature Electronic State: Correlated metallic conductor for near-stoichiometric crystalline material
Metal–Insulator Transition: Approximately 150–160 K for near-stoichiometric bulk material
Magnetic Transition: Paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic near the metal–insulator transition
Air Stability: Slowly oxidises at ambient temperature and oxidises rapidly when heated in air
The high melting point and strong V–O lattice make Divanadium trioxide suitable for high-temperature metallurgical and ceramic processing.
The low water solubility prevents simple aqueous dissolution, but acids can convert Divanadium trioxide into soluble V(III) salts and coordination species.
Solutions containing V(III) are readily oxidised by air, so controlled atmosphere and redox conditions are required when the trivalent state must be preserved.
Finely divided Divanadium trioxide can undergo exothermic oxidation when heated in air.
Initial oxidation can form VO2 and mixed-valence Magnéli phases before further conversion toward V2O5 under sufficiently oxidising conditions.
The oxide is therefore chemically distinct from Divanadium pentaoxide and cannot be substituted on an equal-mass basis without accounting for oxidation state and vanadium content.
STRUCTURE AND ELECTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS
Room-temperature Divanadium trioxide normally adopts the corundum structure, with V3+ ions occupying octahedral sites in an oxygen lattice.
The V3+ ion has a 3d2 electronic configuration, and strong electron–electron interactions give Divanadium trioxide behaviour that cannot be described as an ordinary band metal.
Near 150–160 K, near-stoichiometric bulk Divanadium trioxide undergoes a first-order transition from a paramagnetic metallic corundum phase to an antiferromagnetic insulating monoclinic phase.
The transition can change electrical resistance by several orders of magnitude and is accompanied by structural and magnetic changes.
Oxygen non-stoichiometry, vanadium vacancies, chromium or titanium substitution, pressure, strain, grain size and film thickness can shift, broaden or suppress the transition.
Phase-pure electronic applications therefore require tighter control than ordinary metallurgical use.
The metal–insulator behaviour makes Divanadium trioxide a model Mott-transition material.
Specialised research explores Divanadium trioxide in cryogenic switches, resistive-transition devices, neuromorphic elements, temperature-sensitive layers and correlated-electron thin films.
These applications use engineered films or doped compositions rather than untreated metallurgical powder.
PRODUCTION AND COMMERCIAL FORM
Divanadium trioxide is produced by reducing higher vanadium oxides or vanadate intermediates under a controlled reducing atmosphere.
Vanadium pentoxide can be reduced with hydrogen or carbon monoxide through a sequence of intermediate oxides until the V2O3 phase is obtained.
Ammonium metavanadate or ammonium polyvanadate can also be thermally decomposed and reduced in ammonia-containing or hydrogen-containing atmospheres.
V2O5 + 2 H2 → V2O3 + 2 H2O
Reduction temperature, gas composition, water-vapour removal, residence time and oxygen partial pressure determine the final phase assemblage.
Insufficient reduction leaves VO2 or mixed-valence oxides, while excessive carbonaceous reduction can introduce carbon, carbide phases or lower vanadium oxides.
Cooling under inert or reducing gas limits reoxidation of the hot product.
Recovered Divanadium trioxide is crushed, milled, classified or compacted to produce the required particle-size distribution and physical form.
Metallurgical material may be supplied as powder, granules or briquetted feed, while high-purity material is commonly supplied as fine powder, chunks, pressed targets or specialised nanopowder.
Commercial purity levels extend from industrial metallurgical compositions to 99.7%, 99.9% and 99.99% trace-metals grades for advanced materials and research.
APPLICATIONS AND INDUSTRIES
Ferrovanadium and steel-alloy metallurgy
Divanadium trioxide serves as a reduced vanadium feedstock for ferrovanadium manufacture by aluminothermic, silicothermic or electric-furnace processing.
Starting from V(III) rather than V(V) lowers the oxygen load and changes the reductant demand and heat balance of the metallurgical reaction.
Total vanadium, oxide phase, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, silicon, iron, alkali metals, particle size and bulk density influence furnace performance and alloy recovery.
Vanadium–aluminium master alloys
Divanadium trioxide is used as an oxide feed in aluminothermic routes to vanadium–aluminium master alloys and thermite vanadium.
Blending Divanadium trioxide with higher vanadium oxides can moderate the intense heat generated during aluminothermic reduction.
The resulting master alloys are further processed for vanadium-bearing titanium alloys and other specialised metallurgical systems.
Vanadium nitride, carbide and carbonitride manufacture
Divanadium trioxide is an established raw material for vanadium nitride production through carbothermal reduction and nitridation.
Divanadium trioxide is blended with a carbon source, compacted when required and heated under nitrogen-containing gas to form vanadium nitride or vanadium carbonitride.
Oxygen content, carbon ratio, nitrogen potential, temperature profile and residual alkali content affect nitrogen uptake and the phase composition of the final alloy additive.
Divanadium trioxide also functions as a precursor for vanadium carbide and mixed carbonitride materials.
These hard phases are used in powder metallurgy, specialty alloys, wear-resistant materials and research into high-temperature ceramic systems.
Phase purity and carbon balance are especially important because residual oxide reduces the effective vanadium content of the final product.
High-purity vanadium and precursor chemistry
Divanadium trioxide can be reduced further in specialised routes for high-purity vanadium metal and vanadium-containing master alloys.
Divanadium trioxide also provides a V(III) source for preparing vanadium chlorides, nitrides and other reduced vanadium compounds.
Low sodium, potassium, iron, silicon, aluminium, sulfur and carbon contents are important when downstream purification is difficult.
Advanced ceramics and deposited films
Divanadium trioxide is incorporated into controlled-atmosphere ceramic research, mixed-oxide synthesis and vanadium-oxide phase studies.
Divanadium trioxide targets can be used in physical vapour deposition to prepare V2O3-based films under tightly regulated oxygen partial pressure.
Target density, phase purity, porosity, trace metals and oxygen stoichiometry influence deposition stability and film performance.
Catalyst and catalyst-precursor applications
Divanadium trioxide provides a reduced vanadium surface for specialised heterogeneous-catalysis research and serves as a precursor to vanadium nitride catalysts.
Vanadium nitride derived from Divanadium trioxide is investigated for hydrodenitrogenation, hydrodeoxygenation and related catalytic processes.
Because the surface oxidation state can change during activation and reaction, catalytic selection depends on the actual working phase rather than the nominal starting formula alone.
Electronic and correlated-oxide research
High-purity Divanadium trioxide is used to study Mott physics, antiferromagnetism, pressure-induced phase changes and electrically triggered resistance switching.
Single crystals, epitaxial films and carefully doped compositions provide much more reproducible transition behaviour than general-purpose powder.
Oxygen stoichiometry and lattice strain are critical because small deviations can alter conductivity and transition temperature substantially.
Electrochemical energy-storage research
Nanostructured Divanadium trioxide and carbon–Divanadium trioxide composites are investigated as electrode materials for lithium-ion, sodium-ion, potassium-ion and aqueous zinc-ion batteries.
The accessible vanadium oxidation states can support conversion, intercalation and pseudocapacitive charge-storage mechanisms.
Particle architecture, vacancy concentration, surface area, carbon contact, electrolyte compatibility and cycling-induced phase conversion determine electrochemical performance.
Battery use remains an advanced-material application rather than a direct use for ordinary metallurgical Divanadium trioxide.
Electrode-grade development requires engineered particle morphology, controlled defects, conductive additives and application-specific electrochemical qualification.
Laboratory and materials research
Divanadium trioxide is used in solid-state synthesis, phase-equilibrium studies, redox chemistry, spectroscopy and preparation of other V(III) compounds.
Research grades support X-ray diffraction standards, thermal analysis, electrical measurements and investigations of mixed-valence vanadium oxides.
High-purity material reduces interference from iron, chromium, alkali metals and unintended higher oxides.
GRADE SELECTION AND PRODUCT SUITABILITY
Metallurgical-grade Divanadium trioxide is selected primarily by total vanadium, effective V2O3 content, residual higher oxides, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, silicon, iron, moisture and physical form.
Granules or compacted forms reduce dust and can provide more consistent furnace feeding than very fine powder.
Bulk density and particle-size distribution affect conveying, blending, reaction rate and entrainment losses.
High-purity Divanadium trioxide is selected for electronic materials, advanced ceramics, catalysts and chemical synthesis.
Trace-metals grades require individual impurity data rather than total assay alone because chromium, titanium, iron and aluminium can modify electronic or magnetic behaviour.
Phase-purity analysis must distinguish V2O3 from VO2, V2O5, V3O5, V4O7 and other adjacent oxide phases.
Nanopowder and high-surface-area grades are selected by primary particle size, agglomerate distribution, specific surface area, morphology and surface oxidation state.
Their higher surface reactivity increases sensitivity to air oxidation and moisture-containing process environments.
Dense target grades require controlled porosity, mechanical integrity, composition uniformity and dimensions appropriate for the deposition system.
FORMULATION AND PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS
Divanadium trioxide is normally processed as a dry powder, compacted solid, ceramic blend or dispersed particulate rather than as a concentrated aqueous solution.
Dry mixing should control segregation between Divanadium trioxide and reductants, carbon sources, binders or other oxides having different particle sizes and densities.
Closed transfer and dust extraction protect both workers and product composition.
Milling increases reaction rate and improves blending but also increases surface oxidation and airborne-dust potential.
High-purity milling uses wear-resistant equipment selected to limit iron, chromium, tungsten or ceramic contamination.
Inert-gas milling and sealed transfer are useful when a precise V(III) content must be maintained.
Sintering, nitridation and carbothermal processing require controlled oxygen potential.
Air ingress can convert Divanadium trioxide into higher oxides, while overly reducing conditions can form unwanted lower oxides, carbide or excess free carbon.
Process development therefore links furnace atmosphere, temperature, dwell time and cooling conditions with X-ray phase analysis of the final material.
Acid digestion produces V(III)-containing solutions but generates heat and can release fine particles during charging.
Exclusion of air helps preserve the trivalent oxidation state after dissolution.
For thin-film deposition, oxygen flow and substrate conditions are controlled narrowly to avoid formation of VO2, V2O5 or mixed-valence phases.
QUALITY, SPECIFICATIONS AND DOCUMENTATION
X-ray diffraction is the primary method for confirming the corundum V2O3 phase and detecting crystalline higher or intermediate vanadium oxides.
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric oxidation and redox titration provide information about surface oxidation state and bulk oxygen stoichiometry.
Elemental analysis establishes total vanadium and trace metals, while carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen require dedicated methods.
Particle-size distribution, bulk density, specific surface area, moisture and morphology complete the physical evaluation.
Electronic-grade qualification can additionally include resistivity versus temperature, transition temperature, transition width and magnetic behaviour.
Target-grade qualification includes density, porosity, dimensions, flatness and mechanical integrity.
A Certificate of Analysis records batch assay, phase-related results and controlled impurities.
A Safety Data Sheet communicates hazards, exposure controls, transport classification and emergency measures, while a Technical Data Sheet describes physical form and selection parameters.
Advanced-material projects may also require an X-ray diffraction pattern, trace-metals profile, particle-size report, surface-area result and oxygen-stoichiometry data.
SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
Common classification of high-purity Divanadium trioxide powder includes H319, causes serious eye irritation, and H332, harmful if inhaled.
Airborne Divanadium trioxide dust can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat and respiratory tract.
Repeated exposure to vanadium oxide dust can contribute to chronic rhinitis, bronchitis and other respiratory effects.
Enclosed handling, local exhaust ventilation and filtered dust collection are preferred controls.
Workers handling open powder require chemical-resistant gloves, protective clothing, sealed eye protection and suitable particulate respiratory protection.
Fine and nanoscale grades require enhanced containment because they disperse more readily and provide greater reactive surface area.
Divanadium trioxide can oxidise exothermically and may ignite when strongly heated in air.
Hot material and fire conditions can generate hazardous fumes containing vanadium oxides in higher oxidation states.
Strong oxidising agents, chlorine and uncontrolled high-temperature air exposure are incompatible with Divanadium trioxide.
Vanadium is an element and does not biodegrade, although its oxidation state, solubility and environmental mobility can change.
V(III) is relatively insoluble under reducing conditions, while oxidation can produce more mobile V(V) vanadate species in neutral or alkaline oxygenated water.
Divanadium trioxide dust, process wastewater, slurries and cleaning residues must therefore be contained and prevented from entering soil, drains and surface water.
FIRST AID
Inhalation: Move the exposed person to fresh air, keep the person at rest and obtain medical attention if coughing, wheezing, chest discomfort or breathing difficulty occurs.
Skin Contact: Remove contaminated clothing and wash the affected skin thoroughly with soap and water.
Eye Contact: Rinse cautiously with clean water for at least 15 minutes, remove contact lenses when easy to do and obtain medical attention if irritation persists.
Ingestion: Rinse the mouth, do not induce vomiting and obtain medical advice promptly.
Note to Physicians: Treatment is symptomatic and supportive, with attention to delayed respiratory irritation after significant dust or fume exposure.
HANDLING AND STORAGE
Handle Divanadium trioxide in closed equipment or under effective local exhaust ventilation and prevent the formation of airborne dust.
Keep ignition sources and uncontrolled heat away from finely divided material.
Avoid contact with skin and eyes and wash thoroughly after handling.
Store Divanadium trioxide in tightly closed, moisture-resistant containers in a cool, dry and well-ventilated area.
Keep Divanadium trioxide away from strong oxidising agents, chlorine, acids and incompatible reactive materials.
High-purity, nanopowder and electronic grades benefit from vacuum-sealed or inert-gas packaging that limits surface oxidation.
Collect spills with a filtered industrial vacuum or careful damp collection without dispersing dust.
Do not use uncontrolled dry sweeping or compressed air for cleanup.
Place recovered powder and contaminated cleaning materials in sealed, labelled containers for authorised waste management.
PACKAGING AND PROCUREMENT CONSIDERATIONS
Divanadium trioxide powder is packed in sealed bottles, lined pails, drums or moisture-resistant bags placed within rigid outer packaging.
Metallurgical quantities may use drums or bulk bags with liners, while high-purity and nanoscale grades use smaller barrier containers with controlled headspace.
Chunks, granules and compacted feed reduce dust generation during transport and furnace charging.
A procurement request should identify the intended metallurgical, nitride, carbide, catalyst, battery, ceramic, deposition or research application.
Important purchasing parameters include V2O3 assay, total vanadium, oxidation-state or phase purity, maximum V2O5 and VO2, trace metals, carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, moisture, particle size, bulk density and packaging.
Electronic and thin-film projects should additionally state transition-property, target-density or oxygen-stoichiometry requirements.
Ataman Kimya supports professional Divanadium trioxide procurement with attention to vanadium content, phase purity, oxygen stoichiometry, trace-metal limits, particle size, physical form, documentation and packaging.
For Divanadium trioxide specifications, grade selection, documentation, packaging options and supply inquiries, contact Ataman Kimya at +90 216 577 10 10 or info@atamankimya.com.
