Description

• General description: Niobium(V) ethoxide is a metal-organic compound that dimerizes in solution to form Nb2(OEt)10 molecules. At room temperature, it is a colorless liquid that is miscible with some organic solvents, but which hydrolyzes readily. Niobium(V) ethoxide freezes at 5 °C and boils at 142 °C at 0.1 mmHg. It can be synthesized by the electrochemical reaction of ethanol with niobium plate and stainless-steel electrodes in the presence of tetraethylammonium chloride (TEAC) as the conductive additive.
• Application: Niobium(V) ethoxide is a synthetic precursor for niobium oxides, for example Nb2O5 [1], NaNbO3 [2], andTiNb2O7.[3] Niobium(V) ethoxide is commonly used in colloidal solution-based syntheses like sol-gel processing and electrospinning. These chemistries allow researchers to control the microstructure to form gels [1], nanofibers [3], nanotubes [4], and microspheres. [5] Niobium(V) ethoxide is also commonly added to other metal alkoxides to dope metal oxides, most commonly titania, with niobium. [6] Because of its low boiling point and low decomposition temperature (~325-350 °C),niobium(V) ethoxide is also used as a precursor in atomic-layer deposition, chemical vapor deposition, and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of niobium oxides.It can also be used as a dopant to prepare Nb-doped TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). The doping of Nb lowers the conduction band of TiO2 enhancing electron injection and transfer ability of TiO2 photoanode. This results in a significant increase in the performance of DSSC.
• Features and Benefits: The purity and volatility of Niobium(V) ethoxide makeit a suitable precursor for atomic layer deposition and chemical vapordeposition of niobium oxide.