Vanadium(V) Oxide

Vanadium(V) oxide (vanadia) is the chemical compound with the formula V₂O₅. Commonly known as vanadium pentoxide, this brown/yellow solid is the most stable and common compound of vanadium. Upon heating, it reversibly loses oxygen. Related to this ability, V₂O₅ catalyses several useful aerobic oxidation reactions, the largest scale of which underpins the production of sulfuric acid from sulfur dioxide. It is a poisonous brown/yellow solid which, because of its high oxidation state, is both an amphoteric oxide and an oxidizing agent. Unlike most metal oxides, it dissolves slightly in water to give a pale yellow, acidic solution. When this compound is formed by precipitation from aqueous solution, then its color is deep orange instead of brown/yellow.

The mineral form of this compound, shcherbinaite is extremely rare, almost always found among fumaroles. A mineral trihydrate, V₂O₅·3H₂O, is also known under the name of navajoite.