4 research outputs found
Hydrolytic Stability of Mesoporous Zirconium Titanate Frameworks Containing Coordinating Organic Functionalities
The hydrolytic stability of lanthanide
and actinide selective mono- and polyphosphonate-functionalized mesoporous
zirconium titanium oxide adsorbents has been investigated in nitric
acid solutions. Hydrolytic degradation of the surfaces, as measured
through the fractional loss of phosphorus and elements of the oxide
framework, increased by more than an order of magnitude as the nitric
acid concentration was increased from 0 to 2 mol/L. The unfunctionalized
parent oxide suffered considerable dissolution in 2 mol/L acid over
a period of 72 h. Under identical conditions, the fractional Zr and
Ti release was reduced to 1 Γ 10<sup>β2</sup> for monophosphonate
functionalized hybrids and reached as low as 1 Γ 10<sup>β6</sup> for trisphosphonate functionalized variants. The bisphosphonates
showed intermediate values. The leaching of P, Zr and Ti was found
to be incongruent with the Zr leaching to a lesser extent implying
enhanced stability of the ZrβOβP bond. Quantitative
analysis of the dissolution kinetics indicated a parabolic dissolution
model with a rate constant in the range of 0.5β1.5 mg g<sup>β1</sup> min<sup>β1/2</sup> for the elemental leaching
of P, Ti, and Zr. The leaching of Zr from the mesoporous matrix was
relatively more complex than for the other elements with evidence
of a leaching mechanism involving two processes. ToF-SIMS and DRIFT
analysis demonstrated that after leaching in 2 M HNO<sub>3</sub> for
24 h, a significant proportion of grafted ligands remained on the
surface. The oxide functionalized with amino trismethylenephosphonic
acid, which had previously shown excellent <sup>153</sup>Gd<sup>3+</sup> selectivity, was demonstrated to have outstanding stability, with
low fractional elemental losses and preservation of mesoporous texture
even after leaching for 24 h in 2 M HNO<sub>3</sub>. This suggests
this particular hybrid to be worthy of additional study
Hydrolytic Stability of Mesoporous Zirconium Titanate Frameworks Containing Coordinating Organic Functionalities
The hydrolytic stability of lanthanide
and actinide selective mono- and polyphosphonate-functionalized mesoporous
zirconium titanium oxide adsorbents has been investigated in nitric
acid solutions. Hydrolytic degradation of the surfaces, as measured
through the fractional loss of phosphorus and elements of the oxide
framework, increased by more than an order of magnitude as the nitric
acid concentration was increased from 0 to 2 mol/L. The unfunctionalized
parent oxide suffered considerable dissolution in 2 mol/L acid over
a period of 72 h. Under identical conditions, the fractional Zr and
Ti release was reduced to 1 Γ 10<sup>β2</sup> for monophosphonate
functionalized hybrids and reached as low as 1 Γ 10<sup>β6</sup> for trisphosphonate functionalized variants. The bisphosphonates
showed intermediate values. The leaching of P, Zr and Ti was found
to be incongruent with the Zr leaching to a lesser extent implying
enhanced stability of the ZrβOβP bond. Quantitative
analysis of the dissolution kinetics indicated a parabolic dissolution
model with a rate constant in the range of 0.5β1.5 mg g<sup>β1</sup> min<sup>β1/2</sup> for the elemental leaching
of P, Ti, and Zr. The leaching of Zr from the mesoporous matrix was
relatively more complex than for the other elements with evidence
of a leaching mechanism involving two processes. ToF-SIMS and DRIFT
analysis demonstrated that after leaching in 2 M HNO<sub>3</sub> for
24 h, a significant proportion of grafted ligands remained on the
surface. The oxide functionalized with amino trismethylenephosphonic
acid, which had previously shown excellent <sup>153</sup>Gd<sup>3+</sup> selectivity, was demonstrated to have outstanding stability, with
low fractional elemental losses and preservation of mesoporous texture
even after leaching for 24 h in 2 M HNO<sub>3</sub>. This suggests
this particular hybrid to be worthy of additional study
Gradual Structural Evolution from Pyrochlore to Defect-Fluorite in Y<sub>2</sub>Sn<sub>2β<i>x</i></sub>Zr<sub><i>x</i></sub>O<sub>7</sub>: Average vs Local Structure
We
have studied the long-range average and local structures in
Y<sub>2</sub>Sn<sub>2β<i>x</i></sub>Zr<sub><i>x</i></sub>O<sub>7</sub> (<i>x</i> = 0β2.0)
using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray absorption spectroscopy,
respectively, and by theoretical methods. While the diffraction data
indicate a clear phase transition from ordered pyrochlore to disordered
defect-fluorite at <i>x</i> βΌ 1.0β1.2, X-ray
absorption near-edge structure (XANES) results at the Zr L<sub>3</sub>- and Y L<sub>2</sub>-edges reveal a gradual structural evolution
across the whole compositional range. These findings provide experimental
evidence that the local disorder occurs long before the pyrochlore
to defect-fluorite phase boundary, as determined by X-ray diffraction,
and the extent of disorder continues to develop throughout the defect-fluorite
region. The Zr and Y L-edge spectra are very sensitive to changes
in the local structure; such sensitivity enables us to reveal the
progressive nature of the phase transition. Experimental results are
supported by <i>ab initio</i> atomic scale simulations,
which provide a mechanism for disorder to initiate in the pyrochlore
structure. Further, the coordination numbers of the cations in both
the defect-fluorite and pyrochlore structures are predicted, and the
trends agree well with the experimental XANES results. The calculations
predict that the coordination of cations in the Y<sub>2</sub>Zr<sub>2</sub>O<sub>7</sub> defect-fluorite (normally considered to be 7
for all cations) varies depending on the species with the average
coordination of Y and Zr being 7.2 and 6.8, respectively
Probing Long- and Short-Range Disorder in Y<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>2β<i>x</i></sub>Hf<sub><i>x</i></sub>O<sub>7</sub> by Diffraction and Spectroscopy Techniques
We studied the long-range
average and short-range local structures
in Y<sub>2</sub>Ti<sub>2β<i>x</i></sub>Hf<i><sub>x</sub></i>O<sub>7</sub> (<i>x</i> = 0β2.0)
using diffraction and spectroscopy techniques, respectively. Both
neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data show a clear
phase transition of the average structure from ordered pyrochlore
to disordered defect-fluorite at <i>x</i> β 1.6;
the long-range anion disorder appears to develop gradually throughout
the entire pyrochlore region in contrast to the rapid loss of cation
ordering from <i>x</i> = 1.4 to 1.6. The commonly observed
two-phase region around the pyrochlore/defect-fluorite phase boundary
is absent in this system, demonstrating high sample quality. X-ray
absorption near-edge structure (XANES) results at the Y L<sub>2</sub>-, Ti K- and L<sub>3,2</sub>-, Hf L<sub>3</sub>-, and O K-edges indicate
a gradual local structural evolution across the whole compositional
range; the Y coordination number (CN) decreases and the CN around
Ti and Hf increases with increasing Hf content (<i>x</i>). The spectroscopic results suggest that the local disorder occurs
long before the pyrochlore to defect-fluorite phase boundary as determined
by diffraction, and this disorder evolves continuously from short-
to medium- and eventually to long-range detectable by diffraction.
This study highlights the complex disordering process in pyrochlore
oxides and the importance of a multitechnique approach to tackle disorder
over different length scales and in the anion and cation sublattices,
respectively. The results are important in the context of potential
applications of these oxides such as ionic conductors and radiation-resistant
nuclear waste forms