information:highlighting, quality:correction
Oxyanions

In an aqueous solution, vanadium(V) forms an extensive family of oxyanions as established by V NMR spectroscopy. The interrelationships in this family are described by the predominance diagram, which shows at least 11 species, depending on pH and concentration. The tetrahedral orthovanadate ion, VO, is the principal species present at pH 12–14. Similar in size and charge to phosphorus(V), vanadium(V) also parallels its chemistry and crystallography. Orthovanadate V O is used in protein crystallography to study the biochemistry of phosphate. Besides that, this anion also has been shown to interact with the activity of some specific enzymes. The tetrathiovanadate is analogous to the orthovanadate ion.

At lower pH values, the monomer and dimer are formed, with the monomer predominant at a vanadium concentration of less than c. 10 M (pV > 2, where pV is equal to the minus value of the logarithm of the total vanadium concentration/M). The formation of the divanadate ion is analogous to the formation of the dichromate ion. As the pH is reduced, further protonation and condensation to polyvanadates occur: at pH 4–6 is predominant at pV greater than ca. 4, while at higher concentrations trimers and tetramers are formed. Between pH 2–4 decavanadate predominates, its formation from orthovanadate is represented by this condensation reaction:

In decavanadate, each V(V) center is surrounded by six oxide ligands. Vanadic acid, H VO, exists only at very low concentrations because protonation of the tetrahedral species results in the preferential formation of the octahedral species. In strongly acidic solutions, pH < 2, is the predominant species, while the oxide V O precipitates from solution at high concentrations. The oxide is formally the acid anhydride of vanadic acid. The structures of many vanadate compounds have been determined by X-ray crystallography.

Vanadium(V) forms various peroxo complexes, most notably in the active site of the vanadium-containing bromoperoxidase enzymes. The species VO(O)(H O) is stable in acidic solutions. In alkaline solutions, species with 2, 3 and 4 peroxide groups are known; the last forms violet salts with the formula M V(O) nH O (M= Li, Na, etc.), in which the vanadium has an 8-coordinate dodecahedral structure.