Self-assembled single crystal VO2 (A) microbelts by the reduction of V2O5 thin films: synthesis, structure and optical properties

•Single crystal VO2 (A) microbelts (MBs) were synthesized for the first time via the reduction of V2O5 thin films.•VO2 (A) exhibit belt-like morphology with a rectangular cross section, which is different from VO2 (M).•Light scattering measurement were carried out to discover its phase transition behavior.•The as-prepared VO2 (A) MBs exhibit optical switching properties at a high temperature around 170 ℃.