26 research outputs found
Compositional nanodomain formation in hybrid formate perovskites
We report the synthesis and structural characterisation of three mixed-metal
formate perovskite families [C(NH)]MCu(HCOO) (M = Mn,
Zn, Mg). Using a combination of infrared spectroscopy, non-negative matrix
factorization, and reverse Monte Carlo refinement, we show that the Mn- and
Zn-containing compounds support compositional nanodomains resembling the polar
nanoregions of conventional relaxor ferroelectrics. The M = Mg family exhibits
a miscibility gap that we suggest reflects the limiting behaviour of nanodomain
formation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Recovering local structure information from highâpressure total scattering experiments
High pressure is a powerful thermodynamic tool for exploring the structure and the phase behaviour of the crystalline state, and is now widely used in conventional crystallographic measurements. Highâpressure local structure measurements using neutron diffraction have, thus far, been limited by the presence of a strongly scattering, perdeuterated, pressureâtransmitting medium (PTM), the signal from which contaminates the resulting pair distribution functions (PDFs). Here, a method is reported for subtracting the pairwise correlations of the commonly used 4:1 methanol:ethanol PTM from neutron PDFs obtained under hydrostatic compression. The method applies a molecularâdynamicsâinformed empirical correction and a nonânegative matrix factorization algorithm to recover the PDF of the pure sample. Proof of principle is demonstrated, producing corrected highâpressure PDFs of simple crystalline materials, Ni and MgO, and benchmarking these against simulated data from the average structure. Finally, the first local structure determination of αâquartz under hydrostatic pressure is presented, extracting compression behaviour of the realâspace structure
Anion-polarisation--directed short-range-order in antiperovskite LiFeSO
Short-range ordering in cation-disordered cathodes can have a significant
effect on their electrochemical properties. Here, we characterise the cation
short-range order in the antiperovskite cathode material LiFeSO, using
density functional theory, Monte Carlo simulations, and synchrotron X-ray
pair-distribution-function data. We predict partial short-range
cation-ordering, characterised by favourable OLiFe oxygen coordination
with a preference for polar cis-OLiFe over non-polar
trans-OLiFe configurations. This preference for polar cation
configurations produces long-range disorder, in agreement with experimental
data. The predicted short-range-order preference contrasts with that for a
simple point-charge model, which instead predicts preferential
trans-OLiFe oxygen coordination and corresponding long-range
crystallographic order. The absence of long-range order in LiFeSO can
therefore be attributed to the relative stability of cis-OLiFe and
other non-OLiFe oxygen-coordination motifs. We show that this effect is
associated with the polarisation of oxide and sulfide anions in polar
coordination environments, which stabilises these polar short-range cation
orderings. We propose similar anion-polarisation-directed short-range-ordering
may be present in other heterocationic materials that contain cations with
different formal charges. Our analysis also illustrates the limitations of
using simple point-charge models to predict the structure of cation-disordered
materials, where other factors, such as anion polarisation, may play a critical
role in directing both short- and long-range structural correlations
Revisiting metal fluorides as lithium-ion battery cathodes.
Metal fluorides, promising lithium-ion battery cathode materials, have been classified as conversion materials due to the reconstructive phase transitions widely presumed to occur upon lithiation. We challenge this view by studying FeF3 using X-ray total scattering and electron diffraction techniques that measure structure over multiple length scales coupled with density functional theory calculations, and by revisiting prior experimental studies of FeF2 and CuF2. Metal fluoride lithiation is instead dominated by diffusion-controlled displacement mechanisms, and a clear topological relationship between the metal fluoride F- sublattices and that of LiF is established. Initial lithiation of FeF3 forms FeF2 on the particle's surface, along with a cation-ordered and stacking-disordered phase, A-LixFeyF3, which is structurally related to α-/ÎČ-LiMn2+Fe3+F6 and which topotactically transforms to B- and then C-LixFeyF3, before forming LiF and Fe. Lithiation of FeF2 and CuF2 results in a buffer phase between FeF2/CuF2 and LiF. The resulting principles will aid future developments of a wider range of isomorphic metal fluorides.X.H. is supported by funding from EPSRC Doctoral Prize, Adolphe Merkle and the Swiss National Science Foundation (Program NRP70 No. 153990) and European Commission via MSCA (Grant 798169). A.S.E. acknowledges financial support from the Royal Society. E.C.M. acknowledges funding from European Commission via MSCA (Grant 747449) and RTI2018-094550-A-100 from MICINN. Z. L. acknowledges funding from the Faraday Institution via the FutureCat consortium. C.J.P. is supported by the Royal Society through a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award, and EPSRC grant EP/P022596/1. A.L.G. acknowledges funding from the ERC (Grant 788144). This research was supported as part of the North Eastern Center for Chemical Energy Storage, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, and Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0001294. Work done at Argonne and use of the Advanced Photon Source, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory, was supported by the US DOE under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Work done at Diamond Light Source was under Proposal EE17315-1. The authors are grateful to Prof. G. Ceder and other NECCES members for many stimulating discussions concerning fluoride-based conversion reactions and on the origins of structural hysteresis. The authors also acknowledge the help from S. Dutton, T. Dean, A. Docker, M. Leskes and D. Keeble
Long acting risperidone in Australian patients with chronic schizophrenia: 24-month data from the e-STAR database
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This observational study was designed to collect treatment outcomes data in patients using the electronic Schizophrenia Treatment Adherence Registry (e-STAR).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in Australia who were prescribed risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) between 2003 and 2007 were assessed 12-months retrospectively, at baseline and 24-months prospectively at 3-monthly intervals. The intent-to-treat population, defined as all patients who received at least one dose of RLAI at baseline, was used for the efficacy and safety analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At total of 784 patients (74% with schizophrenia, 69.8% male) with a mean age of 37.1 ± 12.5 years and 10.6 ± 9.5 years since diagnosis were included in this Australian cohort. A significant improvement in mean Clinical Global Impression - severity score was observed at 24-months (4.52 ± 1.04 at baseline, 3.56 ± 1.10 at 24-months). Most of this improvement was seen by 3-months and was also reflected in mean Global Assessment of Functioning score, which improved significantly at 24-months (42.9 ± 14.5 at baseline, 59 ± 15.4 at 24-months). For patients still receiving RLAI at 24-months there was an increase from a mean baseline RLAI dose of 26.4 ± 5 mg to 43.4 ± 15.7 mg. Sixty-six percent of patients discontinued RLAI before the 24-month period--this decreased to 46% once patients lost to follow-up were excluded.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Over the 24-month period, initiation of RLAI was associated with improved patient functioning and illness severity in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Improved outcomes were observed early and sustained throughout the study.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinical Trials Registration Number, <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00283517">NCT00283517</a>.</p
Compositional inhomogeneity and tuneable thermal expansion in mixed-metal ZIF-8 analogues
We study the structural and thermomechanical effects of cation substitution in the compositional family of metalâorganic frameworks Zn1âxCdx(mIm)2 (HmIm = 2-methylimidazole). We find complete miscibility for all compositions x, with evidence of inhomogeneous distributions of Cd and Zn that in turn affect framework aperture characteristics. Using variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction measurements, we show that Cd substitution drives a threefold reduction in the magnitude of thermal expansion behaviour. We interpret this effect in terms of an increased density of negative thermal expansion modes in the more flexible Cd-rich frameworks
Non-equilibrium metal oxides via reconversion chemistry in lithium-ion batteries
Binary metal oxides are attractive anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Despite sustained effort into nanomaterials synthesis and understanding the initial discharge mechanism, the fundamental chemistry underpinning the charge and subsequent cyclesâthus the reversible capacityâremains poorly understood. Here, we use in operando X-ray pair distribution function analysis combining with our recently developed analytical approach employing Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations and non-negative matrix factorisation to study the charge reaction thermodynamics of a series of Fe- and Mn-oxides. As opposed to the commonly believed conversion chemistry forming rocksalt FeO and MnO, we reveal the two oxide series topotactically transform into non-native body-centred cubic FeO and zincblende MnO via displacement-like reactions whose kinetics are governed by the mobility differences between displaced species. These renewed mechanistic insights suggest avenues for the future design of metal oxide materials as well as new material synthesis routes using electrochemically-assisted methods