Magnetic resonance study of SbVO5 thermal decomposition products

A new SbVO5 compound, which can be synthesized from an equimolar mixture of Sb2O3/V2O5 or ?-Sb2O4/V2O5 oxides by heating in air to temperatures below 650 °C, is stable in air up to 710 °C and in argon atmosphere up to ~645 °C. At higher temperatures it decomposes into a phase with a rutile-type structure. Using electron spin resonance (ESR) we have studied the magnetic properties of the thermal decomposition products of SbVO5 in air (sample 1D) and in argon atmosphere (sample 2D), as well as two phases of the of the rutile-type structure (samples 3S and 4S) synthesized at conditions similar to the previous two samples. The ESR spectra of all four samples consisted mostly of two types of lines: a narrow line (designated as the N component) and a very broad line (designated as the VB component). Close inspection of the ESR parameters for these components allowed the samples to be grouped according to the environment they were annealed in (air or oxygen-free argon). The origin of these lines and the implications concerning the phase composition of the decomposition products are discussed. ESR results confirm that the solid decomposition product of SbVO5 in air is a nonstoichiometric compound with a rutile structure and formula Sb0.95+V0.13+V0.84+ 0.2O4 and in argon a near-stoichiometric V4+Sb5+O4.5.