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After thorough degassing at red heat in vacuum, vanadium is heated in an atmosphere of extremely pure H3. The rate of hydrogen absorption depends strongly on the particle size of the metals, the metal purity and the pretreatment method. The rate of the reaction increases with the metal purity and is particularly high if the metal history includes a previous hydrogenation and dehydrogenation.

Vanadium hydride is a lustrous metallic or metallic gray appearance, much like that of the free metals. The lower hydrides are quite hard but are still ductile, increasing in brittleness with increasing H content and becoming extremely brittle at high hydrogen ratios. The hydrogen can be removed in a high vacuum at temperatures exceeding 400℃, and rapidly between 800 and l000℃.