23 research outputs found
Understanding complex magnetic order in disordered cobalt hydroxides through analysis of the local structure
In many ostensibly crystalline materials, unit-cell-based descriptions do not
always capture the complete physics of the system due to disruption in
long-range order. In the series of cobalt hydroxides studied here,
Co(OH)(Cl)(HO), magnetic Bragg diffraction reveals a
fully compensated N\'eel state, yet the materials show significant and open
magnetization loops. A detailed analysis of the local structure defines the
aperiodic arrangement of cobalt coordination polyhedra. Representation of the
structure as a combination of distinct polyhedral motifs explains the existence
of locally uncompensated moments and provides a quantitative agreement with
bulk magnetic measurements and magnetic Bragg diffraction
Solid state chemistry of platinum group and noble metal oxides: Implications for heterogeneous catalysis
The substitution of precious metal ions in oxide hosts represents an attractive alternative to conventional metal-particle-on-oxide catalysts, potentially providing improvements in efficacy and lifetime while simultaneously reducing the loading of these scarce and expensive elements. This dissertation addresses a range of topics within a theme of understanding the solid state chemistry of platinum group and noble metal ions, with implications for their role in heterogeneous catalysis. To inform an understanding of the crystal chemistry of precious metal-substituted oxides, we begin by examining stoichiometric complex oxide compounds of isoelectronic Au3+ and Pd2+. La4LiAuO8 and La2BaPdO5 display exceptional resistance towards thermal dissociation and chemical reduction, serving as model compounds for understanding the crystal chemical conditions that stabilize these oxophobic elements in oxide environments. This understanding is further borne out in a neutron powder diffraction study of La4LiAuO8 – the first such study of a stoichiometric (rather than lightly substituted) oxide compound with gold. Recent interest in platinum group metal- (PGM) substitution has been stimulated by findings that certain substituted complex oxides can reversibly extrude and reincorporate the PGM in response to redox changes in the atmosphere to which they are exposed. Of the PGM-substituted complex oxides studied, almost all have been perovskites. Here we present an investigation of Pd 2+/Pd0 redox cycling in a non-perovskite host, hexagonal YMnO3-type YMn0:5Fe0:5O3. YMn0.5Fe 0.5-xPdxO3-δ is only modestly tolerant to removal and redistribution of Pd2+; after only a few cycle cycles PdO is formed, rather than Pd2+ being reintegrated into the host. The final study presented here is a computational investigation of electronic structural features in compounds spanning the range of formal oxidation states adopted by gold in extended solids. Guided by the well-established importance of the position at which the transition element d band is centered (relative to the Fermi energy), we find an absence of any correlation between the charge on or oxidation state of Au and the position of the Au 5d-band center. Instead of correlating with the Au charge or oxidation state, the location of the d-band center shows a strong dependence on the degree of its filling
Hybrid Inorganic–Organic Materials with an Optoelectronically Active Aromatic Cation: (C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>)<sub>2</sub>SnI<sub>6</sub> and C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub>
Inorganic
materials with organic constituentsî—¸hybrid materialsî—¸have
shown incredible promise as chemically tunable functional materials
with interesting optical and electronic properties. Here, the preparation
and structure are reported of two hybrid materials containing the
optoelectronically active tropylium ion within tin- and lead-iodide
inorganic frameworks with distinct topologies. The crystal structures
of tropylium tin iodide, (C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>)<sub>2</sub>SnI<sub>6</sub>, and tropylium lead iodide, C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub>, were solved using high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray
diffraction informed by X-ray pair distribution function data and
high-resolution time-of-flight neutron diffraction. Tropylium tin
iodide contains isolated tinÂ(IV)-iodide octahedra and crystallizes
as a deep black solid, while tropylium lead iodide presents one-dimensional
chains of face-sharing leadÂ(II)-iodide octahedra and crystallizes
as a bright red-orange powder. Experimental diffuse reflectance spectra
are in good agreement with density functional calculations of the
electronic structure. Calculations of the band decomposed charge densities
suggest that the deep black color of tropylium tin iodide is attributed
to iodide ligand to tin metal charge transfer, while the bright red-orange
color of tropylium lead iodide arises from charge transfer between
iodine and tropylium states. Understanding the origins of the observed
optoelectronic properties of these two compounds, with respect to
their distinct topologies and organic–inorganic interactions,
provides insight into the design of tropylium-containing compounds
for potential optical and electronic applications
Polymorph Selectivity of Superconducting CuSe<sub>2</sub> Through Kinetic Control of Solid-State Metathesis
Rational preparation of materials
by design is a major goal of
inorganic, solid-state, and materials chemists alike. Oftentimes,
the use of nonmetallurgical reactions (e.g., chalcogenide fluxes,
hydrothermal syntheses, and in this case solid-state metathesis) alters
the thermodynamic driving force of the reaction and allows new, refractory,
or otherwise energetically unfavorable materials to form under softer
conditions. Taking this a step further, alteration of a metathesis
reaction pathway can result in either the formation of the equilibrium
marcasite polymorph (by stringent exclusion of air) or the kinetically
controlled formation of the high-pressure pyrite polymorph of CuSe<sub>2</sub> (by exposure to air). From analysis of the reaction coordinate
with <i>in situ</i> synchrotron X-ray diffraction and pair
distribution function analysis as well as differential scanning calorimetry,
it is clear that the air-exposed reaction proceeds via slight, endothermic
rearrangements of crystalline intermediates to form pyrite, which
is attributed to partial solvation of the reaction from atmospheric
humidity. In contrast, the air-free reaction proceeds via a significant
exothermic process to form marcasite. Decoupling the formation of
NaCl from the formation of CuSe<sub>2</sub> enables kinetic control
to be exercised over the resulting polymorph of these superconducting
metal dichalcogenides
Hybrid Inorganic–Organic Materials with an Optoelectronically Active Aromatic Cation: (C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>)<sub>2</sub>SnI<sub>6</sub> and C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub>
Inorganic
materials with organic constituentsî—¸hybrid materialsî—¸have
shown incredible promise as chemically tunable functional materials
with interesting optical and electronic properties. Here, the preparation
and structure are reported of two hybrid materials containing the
optoelectronically active tropylium ion within tin- and lead-iodide
inorganic frameworks with distinct topologies. The crystal structures
of tropylium tin iodide, (C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>)<sub>2</sub>SnI<sub>6</sub>, and tropylium lead iodide, C<sub>7</sub>H<sub>7</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub>, were solved using high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray
diffraction informed by X-ray pair distribution function data and
high-resolution time-of-flight neutron diffraction. Tropylium tin
iodide contains isolated tinÂ(IV)-iodide octahedra and crystallizes
as a deep black solid, while tropylium lead iodide presents one-dimensional
chains of face-sharing leadÂ(II)-iodide octahedra and crystallizes
as a bright red-orange powder. Experimental diffuse reflectance spectra
are in good agreement with density functional calculations of the
electronic structure. Calculations of the band decomposed charge densities
suggest that the deep black color of tropylium tin iodide is attributed
to iodide ligand to tin metal charge transfer, while the bright red-orange
color of tropylium lead iodide arises from charge transfer between
iodine and tropylium states. Understanding the origins of the observed
optoelectronic properties of these two compounds, with respect to
their distinct topologies and organic–inorganic interactions,
provides insight into the design of tropylium-containing compounds
for potential optical and electronic applications
Circumventing Diffusion in Kinetically Controlled Solid-State Metathesis Reactions
Solid-state
diffusion is often the primary limitation in the synthesis
of crystalline inorganic materials and prevents the potential discovery
and isolation of new materials that may not be the most stable with
respect to the reaction conditions. Synthetic approaches that circumvent
diffusion <i>in solid-state reactions</i> are rare and often
allow the formation of metastable products. To this end, we present
an <i>in situ</i> study of the solid-state metathesis reactions
MCl<sub>2</sub> + Na<sub>2</sub>S<sub>2</sub> → MS<sub>2</sub> + 2 NaCl (M = Fe, Co, Ni) using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction
and differential scanning calorimetry. Depending on the preparation
method of the reaction, either combining the reactants in an air-free
environment or grinding homogeneously in air before annealing, the
barrier to product formation, and therefore reaction pathway, can
be altered. In the air-free reactions, the product formation appears
to be diffusion limited, with a number of intermediate phases observed
before formation of the MS<sub>2</sub> product. However, grinding
the reactants in air allows NaCl to form directly without annealing
and displaces the corresponding metal and sulfide ions into an amorphous
matrix, as confirmed by pair distribution function analysis. Heating
this mixture yields direct nucleation of the MS<sub>2</sub> phase
and avoids all crystalline binary intermediates. Grinding in air also
dissipates a large amount of lattice energy via the formation of NaCl,
and the crystallization of the metal sulfide is a much less exothermic
process. This approach has the potential to allow formation of a range
of binary, ternary, or higher-ordered compounds to be synthesized
in the bulk, while avoiding the formation of many binary intermediates
that may otherwise form in a diffusion-limited reaction