Vanadium Oxytrichloride: Pentoxide and Charcoal Heated in Chlorine, Rectified over Sodium (Roscoe 1913)

Vanadium pentoxide mixed with charcoal and heated in a stream of chlorine gives off vanadium oxytrichloride, which condenses as a liquid (V2O5 + 3C + 3Cl2 = 2VOCl3 + 3CO). Distilling it again over sodium in carbon dioxide removes the red tetrachloride. Result: bright lemon-yellow vanadium oxytrichloride, boiling at 126.7 °C. Source: Roscoe and Schorlemmer, A Treatise on Chemistry vol. 2 (1913), p. 933. Not given: temperature and apparatus. Chlorine and carbon monoxide are poisonous: work outdoors or under a strong draught. Picture drawn by Youblob.