First-principles calculations of electric field gradients of Sn compounds

The Discrete Variational (DV) LCAO Molecular Orbital method in the local density approximation was employed to obtain the electronic structure of clusters representing three compounds of Sn(II), namely SnF₂, SnO and SnS and two of Sn(IV): SnF₄ and SnO₂. The electric field gradients at the Sn nucleus were calculated and a value for the nuclear quadrupole moment Q was determined.     

Mössbauer studies of heteroleptic Sn(II) derivatives

The heteroleptic Sn(II) derivatives, [Sn(η⁵-C₅Me₅)Cl] (1), [{Sn(η⁵‐C₅Me₄SiMe₂Bu^t)} {Sn(η⁵‐C₅Me₄SiMe₂Bu^t)(OSO₂CF₃)}] (2), [{Sn(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)}{Sn(η⁵‐C₅Me₅)(OSO₂CF₃)}] (3) and [(Sn{N(SiMe₃)₂}{OSO₂CF₃})₂] (4), were prepared and characterized by ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy, as well as by other techniques such as multinuclear NMR (solution‐ and solid‐state) spectroscopy and X‐ray crystallography. The ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopic data were in good agreement with the other solid state results rendering additional support for the elucidation of bonding and structural features of these compounds.     

First principles studies on the elastic,thermodynamic properties and electronic structure of Ti15−xMoxSn compounds

The structural, elastic, thermodynamic and electronic properties of the Ti_15−xMo_xSn compounds were systematically investigated by means of first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The calculated results demonstrate the Ti_15−xMo_xSn compounds still remain the stable β phase structure. The calculation of cohesive energy shows that the structural stability of the Ti_15−xMo_xSn compounds increases apparently with the increase of Mo content. According to Hooke's law, the single crystal elastic constants were obtained and show that all the calculated compounds keep mechanical stability. Then the bulk modulus B, shear modulus G, Young's modulus E and Poisson's ratio ν of polycrystalline aggregates were calculated at zero pressure. The calculated results show that among these Ti_15−xMo_xSn compounds, Ti₄Mo₁₁Sn exhibits the largest stiffness while Ti₁₂Mo₃Sn shows the greatest ductility. The compounds Ti₁₂Mo₃Sn and Ti₁₁Mo₄Sn with the two lowest elastic Young's modulus of 61.01 GPa and 65.59 GPa are expected to be promising metallic biomaterials for implant applications. Besides, the Debye temperature Θ_D and the electronic density of states (DOS) are also investigated and discussed.     

Theoretical prediction of the structural,elastic, electronic and thermodynamic properties of V3M (M = Si,Ge and Sn) compounds

Density functional theory (DFT), is used in our calculations to study the V₃M (M = Si, Ge and Sn) compounds, we are found that V₃Sn compound is mechanically unstable because of a negative C₄₄ = −19.41 GPa. For each of these compounds considered, the lowest energy structure is found to have the lowest N(E_f) value. Also there is a strong interaction between V and V, the interaction between M (M = Si, Ge, Sn) and V (M and M) is negative, not including Si [Sn]. In phonon density of states PDOS, the element contributions varies from lighter (high frequency) to heaviest (low frequency).     

A pulsed EPR study of the catalytic oxidation of CO over Cu/SnO2

The role of the Cu(II) in the catalytic oxidation of CO over Cu/SnO₂ with low Cu(II) content was studied by continuous wave EPR, electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) and hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopes. Three methods were employed for introducing the copper: (i) by coprecipitation, (ii) impregnation onto SnO₂ gel and (iii) impregnation onto calcined SnO₂. Two types of Cu(II) species were identified in these calcined Cu/SnO₂ materials. Those belonging to the first type, termed B and C, exhibit highly resolved EPR spectra with well defined EPR parameters and are located within the bulk of the oxide. The other group comprises a distribution of surface Cu(II) species with unresolved EPR features and are referred to as S. While the latter were readily reduced by CO the former required long exposures at high temperatures (> 673 K). The specific interactions of the different Cu(II) species with CO were investigated through the determination of the¹³C hyperfine coupling of enriched¹³CO. The ESEEM spectra of calcined samples, generated either by coprecipitation or impregnation, show after the adsorption of CO signals at the Larmor frequencies of^{117, 119}Sn and¹³C and at twice these Larmor frequencies. Although these signals indicate that^{117, 119}Sn and¹³C are in the close vicinity of Cu(II), they cannot provide the hyperfine couplings of these nuclei. This problem was overcome by the application of the HYSCORE experiment. The 2D HYSCORE spectra show well resolved cross peaks which provide the hyperfine interaction of these nuclei. Simulations of the HYSCORE spectra yield for^{117, 119}Sn an isotropic hyperfine constant,a _iso, of ±4.0 MHz and an anisotropic component,T _?, of ±2.0 MHz. Pulsed ENDOR spectra also showed^{117, 119}Sn signals which agree with the above values. The¹³C cross peaks yielda _iso=±1.0 MHz andT _?=±2.0 MHz. Similar C cross peaks were observed in spectra of calcined Cu/SnO₂ after the adsorption of CO₂. Based on the same hyperfine couplings in the samples exposed to¹³CO and¹³CO₂ the signals were assigned to surface carbonate species generated by part of the Cu(II) S type species rather then by species B and the role of the Cu(II) in the oxidation process is discussed.     

An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of volatile tin compounds

Core-level X-ray photoelectron spectra of fifteen compounds of tin have been measured in the gas phase. The compounds include various organo and halo compounds as well as tin(IV) nitrate and Sn{N[Si(CH₃)₃]₂}₂. The tin binding energies span a range of 4.4 eV and are well correlated by the “transition-state” point-charge potential model equation using atomic charges calculated by the CHELEQ electro-negativity equalization method. As expected, the empirically determined parameter k for tin is smaller than the k values obtained in previous work for carbon, silicon, and germanium. For Sn(NO₃)₄, and Sn{N[Si(CH₃)₃]₂}₂, the bonding can be described as a weighted average of several resonance structures. In these cases the binding energy data were used in conjunction with the CHELEQ method to determine the resonance structure weightings.     

119Sn Mössbauer Study of as-Deposited Layers Prepared by Co-evaporation of TeO2 and Sn

The deposited layers on glass surface with thickness between 230 and 500 nm were prepared by the chemical reactions of TeO₂ and Sn during vacuum co-deposition, and were characterized as a function of the Sn/Te ratio between 0.5 and 2.8 by ¹¹⁹Sn conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The as-deposited samples showed amorphous character with very finely dispersed microstructure. The ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectra of as-deposited samples revealed the dominance of Sn(II) and Sn(IV) states although SnTe was also found when the Sn/Te ratio was high. A monotonous increase of the Sn(II)/Sn(IV) ratio was observed with increasing Sn/Te ratio.     

Hyperfine interaction and phase transitions in oxide films of zirconium alloys

Trimetallic Pt/Al₂O₃SnIn–Cl naphtha-reforming catalysts were prepared via co-precipitation route. Platinum and chlorine were introduced by the incipient wetness technique on the alumina support already doped with about 0.3 %wt of Sn to obtain about 0.3 %wt of Pt and 1.5 %wt of Cl. For the same Pt, Sn and Cl composition, indium loading ranged from 0.06 to 0.6 wt.%. The obtained catalysts were investigated by ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy between 95 and 300 K. Two Sn(IV), Sn(II) and Sn(0) environments have been identified and well characterized by their hyperfine parameters. The Lamb-Mössbauer factors have been determined for each environment and found to be 0.53, 0.27 and 0.31 for Sn(IV), Sn(II) and Sn(0) respectively. The addition of indium has been found to favour the formation of Pt_xSn alloys. ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy results show that addition of even small amount of In (0.06 wt.%) leads to the formation of a Pt₃Sn alloy. At higher indium loadings, higher amounts of Pt_xSn alloys of almost equal Pt and Sn atomic concentrations were detected. The increasing formation of Pt_xSn alloys with higher indium loading is in good correlation with a decrease of catalyst’s overall conversion and selectivity to C1 and C3–C4 paraffins and increase of isomerization selectivity.     

Electrochemical properties of Ti-Ni-Sn materials predicted by <Superscript>119</Superscript>Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy

The electrochemical activity of TiNiSn, TiNi ₂Sn and Ti ₆Sn ₅ compounds considered as negative electrode materials for Li-ion batteries has been predicted from the isomer shift- Hume-Rothery electronic density correlation diagram. The ternary compounds were obtained from solid-state reactions and Ti ₆Sn ₅ by ball milling. The ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer parameters were experimentally determined and used to evaluate the Hume-Rothery electronic density [e _av]. The values of [e _av] are in the region of Li-rich Li-Sn alloys for Ti ₆Sn ₅ and outside this region for the ternary compounds, suggesting that the former compound is electrochemically active but not the two latter ones. Electrochemical tests were performed for these different materials confirming this prediction. The close values of [e _av] for Ti ₆Sn ₅ and Li-rich Li-Sn alloys indicate that the observed good capacity retention could be related to small changes in the global structures during cycling.     

Magnetic properties of TbMn6Sn6-xGax (x=0.0－1.2) compounds

Effects of Ga substitution for Sn on the structure and magnetic properties of TbMn₆Sn_6-xGa_x (x=0.0－1.2) compounds have been investigated by means of x-ray diffraction, magnetization measurement and ¹¹⁹Sn M?ssbauer spectroscopy. The substitution of Ga for Sn results in a decrease in lattice constants and unit-cell volumes. The magnetic ordering temperature decreases monotonically with increasing Ga content from 423 K for x=0.0 to 390 K for x=1.2. At room temperature, the easy magnetization direction changes from the c-axis to the ab-plane. This variation implies that the substitution of Ga for Sn leads to a decrease in the c-axis anisotropy of the Tb sublattice. An increase in the non-magnetic Ga concentration results in a monotonic decrease of the spontaneous magnetization M_s at room temperature. Since there are three non-equivalent Sn sites, 2c (0.33, 0.67,0), 2d (0.33, 0.67,0.5) and 2e (0,0,0.34) in the TbMn₆Sn_6-xGa_x compounds, the ¹¹⁹Sn M?ssbauer spectra of the TbMn₆Sn₆ and TbMn₆Sn_5.4Ga_0.6 compounds can be fitted by three sextets. The hyperfine fields (HFs) decrease in the order of HF(2d)>HF(2e)>HF(2c), which is in agreement with the magnetic structure.     

A new method to study complex materials in solid state chemistry: application to chalcogenide materials

We show that a combined application of Mössbauer spectroscopy and other experimental tools such as X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance provides a coherent picture of the local electronic structure in chalcogenide materials. In order to develop this idea we propose an analysis of the Sn, Sb and Te local electronic structures for three different systems of materials. The first example concerns the In–Sn–S system. We show that Li insertion in In₁₆Sn₄S₃₂ leads to changes of the Sn oxidation states from Sn(IV) to Sn(II). The second example concerns materials of the Tl–Sb–S system. We show that variations of the ¹²¹Sb Mössbauer isomer shift and surface of the first peak of the X‐ray absorption spectra at the Sb L_III edge can be linearly correlated because of the main influence of the Sb 5s electrons. This is explained by changes in the local environment of the Sb atoms. The last example concerns the crystalline phases of the Tl–Sn–Te system. The formal oxidation numbers of the Te atoms are determined from ¹²⁵Te Mössbauer spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. They are related to the different types of bonds involving the Te atoms in the Tl–Sn–Te compounds.     

Magnetic properties and hyperfine fields of some Eu-compounds with Si,Ge and Sn

Mössbauer effect and magnetization measurements are reported for the intermetallic compounds Eu-(Si, Ge, Sn) and Eu-(Si₂, Ge₂). The equiatomic compounds show a complex magnetic behaviour while EuSi₂ and EuGe₂ are antiferromagnetic. The hyperfine fields at the Eu and Sn sites in EuSn have the same temperature dependence following aS=7/2 Brillouin function.     

Electronic, magnetic and transport properties of Co2TiZ (Z=Si, Ge and Sn): A first-principle study

We have studied the electronic structure, magnetic and transport properties of some Co based full Heusler alloys, namely Co₂TiZ (Z=Si, Ge and Sn), in the frame work of first-principle calculations. The calculations show that Co₂TiZ (X=Si, Ge and Sn) are to be half-metallic compounds with a magnetic moment of 2 μ_B, well consistent with the Slater-Pauling rule. The electronic structure results reveal that Co₂TiZ has the high density of states at the Fermi energy in the majority-spin state and show 100% spin polarization. Our results also suggest that both the electronic and magnetic properties in these compounds are intrinsically related to the appearance of the minority-spin gap. The origin of energy gap in the minority-spin states is discussed in terms of the electron splitting of Z (Z=Si, Ge and Sn) and 3d Co atoms and also the d-d hybridization between the Co and Ti atoms. The transport properties of these materials are discussed on the basis of Seebeck coefficients, electrical conductivity coefficients and thermal conductivity coefficients.     

Study of chemical shift in Ll and Lƞ X‐ray emission lines in different chemical forms of 48Cd and 50Sn compounds using WDXRF technique

Chemical shift in Ll and L? X‐ray emission lines of ₄₈Cd and ₅₀Sn elements in various chemical compounds was determined with high resolution wavelength dispersive X‐ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer. The positive and negative shifts were measured in ₄₈Cd compounds viz, CdS, CdB₄O₇, CdCl₂, Cd₃(PO₄)₂, CdCO₃, CdI₂ and CdO with reference to pure Cd foil and ₅₀Sn compounds viz, Sn(CrO₄)₂, SnO, SnO₂, SnCl₂, SnF₂, SnF₄ with reference to pure Sn foil. The measured energy shifts in Ll X‐ray emission lines range from ?0.47 to 1.82 eV and L? emission lines range from ?2.67 to 1 eV for both compounds. The effective charges (q, q ^/ , q ^// , and q ^/// ) were calculated from four models (Pauling method, Suchet method, Levine method and Batsonav method) and found to be linear dependence with chemical shift. The measured chemical shifts were correlated with effective charge, number of ligands and electronegativity of the central metal atom in the given compounds.     

Transferred hyperfine fields at 119Sn in Fe1−xMxSn [M≡Mn, Co and Ni]

The transferred hyperfine fields at ¹¹⁹Sn, using Mössbauer spectroscopy are reported for the hexagonal B-35 compounds with a general formula Fe_1?xM_xSn, where MMn, Co and Ni. In these compounds, Sn atoms occupy two crystallographically inequivalent sites. For FeSn the observed spectrum consists of a quadrupole doublet and a magnetic pattern corresponding to 2(d) and 2(a) sites respectively. The data have been analysed to resolve the controversy regarding hyperfine parameters. On replacing Fe by Mn atoms, additional lines appear in the higher velocity region of the Mössbauer spectrum and the intensity of the nuclear Zeeman pattern increases at the expense of quadrupole doublet. The resulting Mössbauer spectra have been analysed by taking only the nearest neighbour interactions into account. This analysis shows that on replacing each Fe atom by a Mn atom, the hyperfine field at 1(a) Sn site increases by about 40 kOe and a field of about 35 kOe is produced at the 2(d) Sn sites. Further, from the nuclear Zeeman pattern for 2(d) sites, the sign of quadropole splitting for these sites could also be determined and was found to be positive. However, the substitution of Co and Ni in place of Fe atoms results in a broad unresolved pattern suggesting that the hyperfine field at the 1(a) sites decreases and a finite field develops at the 2(d) site. The origin of transferred hyperfine fields at the two inequivalent Sn sites is discussed, the magnetic transition temperatures of these compounds have been estimated and the magnetic moments of M-atoms have been inferred.     

Mössbauer studies of the states and behavior of tin in reforming catalysts

The state of Sn in Pt-Sn/Al₂O₃ catalyst has been studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy, XPS and TPR. The Mössbauer spectra show that Sn(IV) is the main species, which is also proved by XPS. The TPR experiment further proves that the reoxidation of the reduced catalyst is rather slow. Sequentially, the Mössbauer and XPS studies indicate that the Sn(IV) species are not tin chloride, Sn(II) or Sn(0) but probably tin oxide. Furthermore, the behavior of the Sn(IV) at different conditions has been discussed.     

Investigation of PdSn-catalysts for nitrate removal in drinking water processing

PdSn catalysts prepared by various methods and used for nitrate reduction were investigated by means of in situ _119mSn Mössbauer spectroscopy. Characterization by ^119mSn Mössbauer spectroscopy revealed significant differences concerning the modification of the palladium particles supported on alumina. The controlled surface reaction preparation method (CSR) leads to formation of PdSn alloys with different tin contents besides small amounts of Sn(II) species and unalloyed metallic Sn. On the other hand the impregnation method leads to a small amount of PdSn alloys and higher contents of Sn(II) species. Sn(IV) species were found in both kinds of catalysts. The CSR prepared PdSn catalysts showed an improved activity and selectivity compared to the catalysts obtained by the impregnation method.     

Mössbauer study of supported Pt—Sn

Pt—Sn supported on alumina was characterized before and after treatment with hydrogen by Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. For the calcined sample tin is present as SnO₂ and platinum as metal. After reduction with hydrogen, Sn(IV), Sn(II), Sn(0), Pt, Pt₃Sn, PtSn alloys are formed. SnO interacts strongly with the support.     

Crystallization and the electrical conductivity of vanadate glass

The common formula of the minerals franckeite, cylindrite and potosiite is known to be w PbS × SnS₂ y FeS z Sb₂S₃. The tin Mössbauer spectra showed the existence of two Sn(IV) and two Sn(II) species, and the iron spectra one high spin Fe(II) and two Fe(III) species. For antimony, only one Sb(III) phase is present, except in potosiite where also 20 % of Sb(V) were found. The mineralogical relationships within this group were confirmed by the Mössbauer spectroscopical results.     

119Sn Mössbauer characterization of self assembled organotin(IV) complexes with Schiff bases containing amino acetate skeletons

Several organotin(IV) compounds, viz., diorganotin(IV) compounds of the types Ph₂SnLH (monomer), ⁿBu₂SnLH·OH₂ (monomer), [Me₂SnLH·OH₂]₂ (centrosymmetric dimer), [ⁿBu₂SnLH]₃ (cyclic trinuclear), [Ph₂SnLH] _n (polymer), {[ⁿBu₂Sn(LH)]₂O}₂ (centrosymmetric tetranuclear), dinuclear di-/tri-mixed organotin(IV) compounds Ph₂SnLH·Ph₃SnCl (monomer) and triorganotin(IV) compounds of the types [Bz₃SnLH]₂ (centrosymmetric dimer) and [Me₃SnL¹H] _n (Polymer) (LH = Schiff base carboxylate) have been studied in the solid state at liquid nitrogen temperature using ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. The tin coordination geometry of the compounds determined from crystallography was correlated with the ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer results.