Synthesis of Nb3.49N4.56O0.44 nanoplatelets and NbS2–Nb2O5 nanoflakes

Novel polygonal Nb2O5 platelets have been generated by a simple solvothermal technique. Then, the polygonal Nb2O5 nanoflakes as a template react chemically with NH3 and H2S to generate polygonal Nb3.49N4.56O0.44 nanoflakes and the polygonal NbS2–Nb2O5 nanoflakes. Under optimal conversion conditions, the final geometry features of polygonal Nb3.49N4.56O0.44 nanoflakes and the polygonal NbS2–Nb2O5 nanoflakes are predetermined by the size and morphology of the Nb2O5 platelets. TEM observation has showed that the Nb2O5 nanoplatelets and Nb3.49N4.56O0.44 nanoflakes consist of well-crystallized single crystals, the polygonal NbS2–Nb2O5 nanoflakes are composed of phases of mixed oxide and sulphide. These new polygonal plate-like nanostructures are important for understanding nanostructure processing.