Raman spectroscopic study of K3H(SO4)2 (phases I and II) single crystals

A Raman study of K₃H(SO₄)₂ as a function of temperature reveals that this compound undergoes a phase transition at T_c = 483 K prior to the decomposition at 508 K.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the IR spectrum of [(CH2OH)3CNH3]2SiF6 crystal

[(CH₂OH)₃CNH₃]₂SiF₆, (tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane)₂SiF₆ crystal, abbreviated as (TRIS)₂SiF₆ crystal, exhibits a solid-solid phase transition (PT) at 182 K. The phase transition is connected with reorientational motion of SiF₆²⁻ and -CH₂OH groups. The vibrational infrared spectra of powdered (TRIS)₂SiF₆ crystal in Nujol and Fluorolube mulls were studied in the wide range of temperatures, from 320 K to 133 K. A wide region of internal vibrations of the TRIS⁺ and SiF₆²⁻ ions was investigated. Temperature changes of wavenumber, width, centre of gravity, and intensity of bands were analyzed to clarify the molecular mechanism of the phase transitions. Theoretical calculations were made based on density functional theory (DFT). The calculated normal vibrational modes of the molecules, their frequencies and intensities were compared with those obtained from experimental data.     

DSC study of the phase transitions in [Ni(D2O)6](ClO4)2 and [Ni(H2O)6](ClO4)2

DSC measurements were carried out for [Ni(H₂O)₆](ClO₄)₂ (sampleH) and [Ni(D₂O)₆](ClO₄)₂ (sampleD) in the temperature range 300–380 K. For both compounds two anomalies on the DSC curves were detected. The results for sampleH are compared to those previously obtained using adiabatic calorimetry method. For both compounds studied in this work the high-temperature transition appears at the same temperature while the low-temperature one is shifted towards higher temperatures in sampleD. Disorder connected with H₂O or D₂O groups is suggested in the intermediate phase between the low- and high-temperature transitions.     

Thermodynamics and phase equilibrium studies of silver halide-cobalt(II) halide systems

Phase diagrams for the systems AgCl-CoCl₂ and AgBr-CoBr₂ were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. The systems are of the eutectic type. Eutectic points are at 271±2 K, 19.5 mol% CoCl₂ and 653±2 K, 17.0 mol% CoBr₂, respectively. The solid solubility does not exceed 2 and 4 mol% in the systems AgCl-CoCl₂ and AgBr-CoBr₂, respectively. Thermodynamic activities of components in molten mixtures and molar free enthalpies of mixing were determined for both systems on the basis of liquidus curves. Deviations from ideality were not found to be considerable.     

The effect of certain promoters on TiO2 crystal structure transformation

The effect of certain promoters on TiO₂ crystal structure transformation was studied by mean thermal and X-ray analyses. It was found that the addition of rutile nuclei and potassium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, and aluminium compounds to hydrated titanium dioxide before calcination process influences on the initial temperature and anatase transformation.

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Zusammenfassung Mittels Thermo- und Röntgendiffraktionsanalyse wurde der Einfluß gewisser Beschleuniger für Strukturumwandlungen in TiO₂-Kristallen untersucht. Man fand, daß ein Zusatz von Rutilkernen und Kalium-, Phosphor-, Zink-, Magnesium- und Aluminiumverbindungen zu hydratiertem Titanoxid die Anfangstemperatur und das Ausmaß der Anatas-Umwandlung beeinflussen.

     

Pressure induced phase transformation in U2O(PO4)2

The high pressure behavior of U₂O(PO₄)₂ has been investigated with the help of Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction measurements up to ∼14 and 6.5 GPa, respectively. The observed changes in the Raman spectra as well as the X-ray diffraction patterns suggest that U₂O(PO₄)₂ undergoes a phase transition at ∼6 GPa to a mixture of a disordered ambient pressure phase and a new high pressure phase. The new phase resembles the triclinic mixed-valence phase of uranium orthophosphate (U(UO₂)(PO₄)₂). On release of pressure the initial phase is not retrieved.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Sol-Gel Cu-ZrO2 and Fe-ZrO2 Catalysts

Fe-ZrO₂ and Cu-ZrO₂ xerogels were prepared by a sol-gel method. The effect of the hydrolysis catalyst during the gelation step, namely H₂SO₄ or NH₄OH, on the properties of the resulting materials was investigated by XRD, BET, TGA/DTA, TPD of ammonia, FTIR, and TPR. Fe-ZrO₂ and Cu-ZrO₂ xerogels, with sulfuric acid introduced as the hydrolysis catalyst, mainly crystallyzed in the tetragonal phase and exhibited larger surface area and acid amount than those obtained with NH₄OH. Ammonia TPD shows that copper promoted sulfated zirconia is the most acidic material. TGA and FTIR reveal that under oxidizing conditions sulfated zirconia promoted with iron and copper retains more sulfate species than unpromoted sulfated zirconia. Regardless of the hydrolysis catalyst employed, copper promoted catalysts calcined at 600°C, contain a large fraction of copper oxide specieseasily reduced at low temperatures. These copper oxide species are believed to have different environment and interactions with the surface oxygen vacancies of the zirconia support. A FeO-like phase appears to be the most probable one after reduction of Fe-ZrO₂ catalysts prepared with NH₄OH as the hydrolysis catalyst. The formation of Fe° species may be hindered by the high dispersion and interaction of Fe²⁺ ions with the zirconia support. On the other hand, the reduction peaks of iron oxide and sulfate species exhibit a considerable overlap in the TPR profiles of sulfated Fe-ZrO₂ samples. Hence, the nature of the supported phase in the latter samples is rather uncertain.     

Raman scattering study on pressure-induced phase transformation of marokite (CaMn2O4)

An in-situ Raman Spectroscopic study was conducted to explore the pressure-induced phase transformation of CaMn₂O₄ to pressures of 73.7 GPa. Group theory yields 24 Raman active modes for CaMn₂O_4, of which 20 are observed at ambient conditions. With the slight compression below 5 GPa, the pressure-induced contraction compensates the structural distortion induced by a Jahn–Teller (JT) effect, resulting in the occurrence of the zero pressure shifts of the JT-related Raman modes. Upon elevation of pressure to nearby 35 GPa, these Raman modes start to display a significant variation in pressure shift, implying the appearance of a pressure-induced phase transformation. Group factor analyses on all possible structure polymorphs indicate that the high-pressure phase is preferentially assigned to an orthorhombic structure, having the CaTi₂O₄ structure. The cooperative JT distortion is continuously reduced in the CaMn₂O₄ polymorph up to 35 GPa. Beyond 35 GPa, it is found that the JT effect was completely suppressed by pressure in the newly formed high-pressure phase. Upon release of pressure, this high-pressure phase transforms to the original CaMn₂O₄ phase, and continuously remains stable to ambient conditions.     

Optical properties of perturbed NO 2 − ions in KNO2 doped NaNO2 single crystals

Summary On the basis of high-resolution and time-resolved fluorescence spectra, a model is proposed for the interpretation of the fluorescence lines originating from various perturbed NO ₂ ^– centers situated in the neighbourhood of the K⁺ ion of the NaNO₂:KNO₂ crystal. Since their excited state energies are lower than that of the host, these perturbed NO ₂ ^– ions act as traps for the host singlet exciton. On the assumption that the perturbation giving rise to those traps results from an interaction of the impurity ion K⁺ with its nearest neighbours, the observed position of the energy levels of the various traps can be reconciled with crystal field calculations.     

LiMO2 (M=Mn, Fe, and Co): Energetics, polymorphism and phase transformation

LiMO₂ materials (M=Mn, Fe, and Co) with different structures were synthesized and their enthalpies of formation from oxides (Li₂O and M₂O₃, M=Mn and Fe), or from oxides (Li₂O and CoO) plus oxygen at 25 °C were determined by high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. The relative stability of the polymorphs of the compound LiMO₂ was established based on their enthalpies of formation. Phase transformations in LiFeO₂ were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and high-temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. The phase transition enthalpies at 25 °C for β→α, γ→β, and γ→α are 4.9±0.7, 4.3±0.8 and , respectively. Thus the γ phase (ordered cations) is the stable form of LiFeO₂ at room temperature, the α phase (disordered cations) is stable at high temperature and the β phase may have a stability field at intermediate temperatures.     

NMR relaxation study of the phase transitions and relaxation mechanisms of the alums MCr(SO4)2·12H2O (M=Rb and Cs) single crystals

The physical properties and phase transition mechanisms of MCr(SO₄)₂·12H₂O (M=Rb and Cs) single crystals have been investigated. The phase transition temperatures, NMR spectra, and the spin-lattice relaxation times T₁ of the ⁸⁷Rb and ¹³³Cs nuclei in the two crystals were determined using DSC and FT NMR spectroscopy. The resonance lines and relaxation times of the ⁸⁷Rb and ¹³³Cs nuclei undergo significant changes at the phase transition temperatures. The sudden changes in the splitting of the Rb and Cs resonance lines are attributed to changes in the local symmetry of their sites, and the changes in the temperature dependences of T₁ are related to variations in the symmetry of the octahedra of water molecules surrounding Rb⁺ and Cs⁺. We also compared these ⁸⁷Rb and ¹³³Cs NMR results with those obtained for the trivalent cations Cr and Al in MCr(SO₄)₂·12H₂O and MAl(SO₄)₂·12H₂O crystals.     

B2O3/TiO2-ZrO2的结构表征及其与酸性和催化性能间的关系

采用XRD、N₂吸附、 ¹¹B MAS NMR、NH₃-TPD和催化性能评价等方法研究了B₂O₃/TiO₂-ZrO₂催化剂的结构、酸性及催化环己酮肟气相Beckmann重排反应性能间的关系。结果表明,催化剂中的B₂O₃同时以三配位的BO₃和四配位的BO₄结构单元存在;     

A pseudopotential study of the hydrogen bond in H2O·H2S,H2S·H2S and H2O·H2Se systems

Intermolecular potential energy curves for the hydrogen bonded systems H₂O·H₂S, H₂O·H₂Se and H₂S·H₂S were calculated with nonempirical pseudopotentials using optimized-in-molecules basis sets augmented by polarization functions. The H₂O·H₂O interaction energy curve has been also considered as a test case. The present results for H₂O·H₂S and H₂S·H₂S indicate much weaker intermolecular interactions than those found in previous ab initio calculations. The H₂O·H₂Se interaction was found to be quite similar to H₂O·H₂S.This work was partly supported by the Polish Academy of Sciences within the Project PAN-09, 7.1.1.1On leave from Quantum Chemistry Laboratory, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-093. Warsaw, Poland     

GGA and GGA + U Study of ThMn2Si2 and ThMn2Ge2 Compounds in a Body-Centered Tetragonal Ferromagnetic Phase

Our study used the full-potential linearized augmented plane waves (FP-LAPW) method to conduct a first-principles evaluation of the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of ThMn₂X₂ (X = Si and Ge) compounds. To establish theoretical dependability with the currently available experimental results, computations for the structural findings of ternary intermetallic thorium (Th)-based compounds were achieved using the generalized gradient approximation in the scheme of Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE–GGA) potential, while the generalized gradient approximation plus the Hubbard U (GGA + U) approach was employed to improve the electrical and magnetic properties. In contrast with both the paramagnetic (PM) and antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases, the ThMn₂X₂ compounds were optimized in a stable ferromagnetic (FM) phase, which was more suited for studying and analyzing magnetic properties. The electronic band structures (BS) and the density of state (DOS) were computed using the two PBE–GGA and GGA + U approximations. The thorium (Th)-based ThMn₂X₂ compound has full metallic character, due to the crossing and overlapping of bands across the Fermi level of energy, as well as the absence of a gap through both spin (up and down) channels. There was a significant hybridization between (Mn-d and (X = Si and Ge)-p states of conduction band with Th-f states in the valence band. The total magnetic moment of ThMn₂Si₂ in the ferromagnetic phase was 7.94534 μB, while for ThMn₂Ge₂ it was 8.73824 μB with a major contribution from the Mn atom. In addition, the ThMn₂Ge₂ compound’s total magnetic moment confirmed that it exhibits higher ferromagnetism than does the ThMn₂Si₂ compound.     

Superstructure and stacking faults in hydrothermal-grown KBe2BO3F2 crystals

The structure of the hydrothermal-grown nonlinear optical crystal KBe₂BO₃F₂ was investigated. A new structure of the R3?c space group with cell parameters of a=4.422(1) Å and c=37.524(3) Å was obtained by powder X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement. The new structure is a 1×1×2 superstructure of the previously reported R32 structure with a different stacking sequence of (Be₂BO₃F₂)_∞ layers along the c axis. The relationship between the refined structure and the experimental results is discussed. A stacking fault mechanism is proposed for the formation of the superstructure as well as the nonuniformity of the hydrothermal-grown KBBF crystals.     

Hexagonal high pressure phase of copper(I)tetraiodomercurate (Cu2HgI4)

Summary Using a high pressure X-ray camera Cu₂HgI₄ was subjected at room temperature to pressures up to about 8 GPa. A hexagonal high pressure phase (a=8.28 (2) Å,c=3.40 (0) Å, space group P lm,Z=1) could be detected. This phase shows a reversible transformation with pressure hysteresis. The transition occurs at 7 GPa when the pressure is increased but at 6 GPa when the pressure is decreased.

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Hexagonale Hochdruckphase von Kupfer(I)tetraiodomercurat (Cu₂HgI₄)

Zusammenfassung Cu₂HgI₄ wurde in einer Hochdruckkamera bei Raumtemperatur mit einem Druck bis zu 8 GPa belastet. Dabei bildete sich eine hexagonale Hochdruckmodifikation (a=8.28 (2) Å,c=3.40 (0) Å, Raumgruppe P lm,Z=1). Für diese Phase wurde eine reversible Umwandlung mit Druckhysterese festgestellt. Mit steigendem Druck findet die Umwandlung bei 7 GPa mit sinkendem Druck jedoch bei 6 GPa statt.

     

High-pressure transitions in MgAl2O4 and a new high-pressure phase of Mg2Al2O5

Phase transitions in MgAl₂O₄ were examined at 21-27 GPa and 1400-2500 °C using a multianvil apparatus. A mixture of MgO and Al₂O₃ corundum that are high-pressure dissociation products of MgAl₂O₄ spinel combines into calcium-ferrite type MgAl₂O₄ at 26-27 GPa and 1400-2000 °C. At temperature above 2000 °C at pressure below 25.5 GPa, a mixture of Al₂O₃ corundum and a new phase with Mg₂Al₂O₅ composition is stable. The transition boundary between the two fields has a strongly negative pressure-temperature slope. Structure analysis and Rietveld refinement on the basis of the powder X-ray diffraction profile of the Mg₂Al₂O₅ phase indicated that the phase represented a new structure type with orthorhombic symmetry (Pbam), and the lattice parameters were determined as a=9.3710(6) Å, b=12.1952(6) Å, c=2.7916(2) Å, V=319.03(3) Å³, Z=4. The structure consists of edge-sharing and corner-sharing (Mg, Al)O₆ octahedra, and contains chains of edge-sharing octahedra running along the c-axis. A part of Mg atoms are accommodated in six-coordinated trigonal prism sites in tunnels surrounded by the chains of edge-sharing (Mg, Al)O₆ octahedra. The structure is related with that of ludwigite (Mg, Fe²⁺)₂(Fe³⁺, Al)(BO₃)O₂. The molar volume of the Mg₂Al₂O₅ phase is smaller by 0.18% than sum of molar volumes of 2MgO and Al₂O₃ corundum. High-pressure dissociation to the mixture of corundum-type phase and the phase with ludwigite-related structure has been found only in MgAl₂O₄ among various A²⁺B³⁺₂O₄ compounds.     

Magnetic phase transition of Li0.75CoO2 compared with LiCoO2 and Li0.5CoO2

Magnetic and thermodynamic properties of the LiCoO₂ positive-electrode material used in lithium-ion battery were first examined. Partially deintercalated LiCoO₂ that is Li_0.75CoO₂, showed definite anomaly in the magnetic susceptibility at T=ca. 175 K probably related to magnetic phase transition which was supported by observation of a weak anomaly in heat capacity. On the other hand, LiCoO₂ did not show such magnetic phase transition as expected, whereas Li_0.5CoO₂ a weak one in the similar temperature range. These behaviors are discussed in association with the mixing of Co³⁺ and Co⁴⁺ electronic structures.     

Characterization of Cu-ZnO-Cr2O3/SiO2 catalysts and application to dehydrogenation of 2-butanol to 2-butanone

The Cu-ZnO-Cr₂O₃/SiO₂ catalysts were prepared by impregnation method, which exhibited high activity for the dehydrogenation of 2-butanol to 2-butanone. These catalysts were characterized by means of XRD, EPR and BET. The experimental results indicated that (i) the valence states of copper play a key role, (ii) groups of copper atoms were the main active sites in this reaction, and (iii) copper oxide would lead to the condensation product of 5-methyl-3-heptanone.     

CO2 regulates phase transition of sodium oleate and 3-(diethylamino)-propylamine in aqueous solution

We reported that the phase conversion of the micelles in aqueous solution prepared by sodium oleate (NaOA) and 3-(diethylamino)-propylamine (DEAPA) in the presence of carbon dioxide. This micellar structure is very sensitive to CO₂ and the pH value of the solution is continuously reduced with the continuous introduction of carbon dioxide. When pH?>?10.2, the mixed solution of NaOA and DEAPA is mainly in the form of spherical micelles; when the 10.2?>?pH?>?9.6, the mixed solution mainly in the worm-like micelles (WLM), where the solution has a significant viscosity change; when the 9.6?>?pH?>?9.1, the NaOA and DEAPA mixed solution becomes the aqueous two-phase system (ATPS), which is composed of two layers, the upper layer is the vesicle structure and the lower layer is the WLM structure; when the pH between 9.1?>?pH?>?9.0, NaOA and DEAPA mixed solution form vesicles, thus realizing the regulation of CO₂ on the micellar structure transition of NaOA and DEAPA mixed solution. Such these microstructures transition could be confirmed by Rheology measurement, DLS and Cryo-TEM.