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Vanadium (V) oxide (vanadia) is the chemical compound with the formula V₂O₅. Commonly known as vanadium pentoxide, this orange solid is the most important [citation needed] compound of vanadium. Upon heating it reversibly loses oxygen. Related to this ability V2O5 catalyse several useful aerobic oxidation reactions, the largest scale of which underpins the production of sulfuric acid from sulfur dioxide. It is a poisonous orange solid which, because of its high oxidation state, is both an amphoteric oxide and an oxidising agent. Unlike most metal oxides, it dissolves slightly in water due to hydrolysis.

 

Vanadium (V) indicates that vanadium is in the +5 oxidation state. The oxygen atoms in the compound are in the -2 oxidation state.

 

Natural form of this compound, mineral shcherbinaite, is found extremely rarely, almost always among some fumaroles.

 

Usage

In terms of quantity, the major use for vanadium (V) oxide is in the production of ferrovanadium. The oxide is heated with scrap iron and aluminum, producing the iron-vanadium alloy along with alumina as a by-product. In 2005 a shortage of V2O5 caused a price rise to around $40/kg, which in turn caused a rise in the price of ferrovanadium.

 

Due to its high thermal coefficient of resistance, vanadium (V) oxide finds use as a detector material in bolometers and microbolometer arrays for thermal imaging.

 

Possible new uses include the preparation of bismuth vanadate ceramics for use in solid oxide fuel cells. Another new application is in vanadium redox batteries, a type of flow battery used for energy storage, including large power facilities such as wind farms.

In China vanadium pentoxide can be divided into several grades as follows.