Characterization of phases in the V2O5–Yb2O3 system obtained by high-energy ball milling and high-temperature treatment

It has been demonstrated that apart from the known compounds YbVO 4 and Yb 8 V 2 O 17 , a substitutive solid solution is also formed in the binary oxide system V 2 O 5 –Yb 2 O 3 . This solid solution is characterized by limited solubility of vanadium(V) oxide in the crystal lattice of ytterbium oxide, and its general formula is Yb 2−5 x □ 2 x V 3 x O 3 , where 0.00 < x < 0.1667. The new solid solution was obtained from the mixtures of V 2 O 5 and Yb 2 O 3 oxides, containing vanadium(V) oxide in the amounts not exceeding 30 mol%, by high-energy ball milling in a planetary ball mill. The solid solution obtained was characterized using the methods XRD, DTA-TG, SEM, IR and UV–Vis-DR. It was found to crystallize in cubic system and to show a structure of Yb 2 O 3 . This solid solution was stable in air atmosphere at least up to ~ 800 °C, and the temperature of its decomposition decreased with increasing x , so with increasing degree of Yb 3+ replacement with V 5+ in the crystal lattice of Yb 2 O 3 . The energy gap estimated for this solid solution varied from ~ 2.5 eV for x = 0.0322 to ~ 2.6 eV for x = 0.1176, which means that this new solid solution is a semiconductor.