Pressure-induced structural transition in n-pentane: a Raman study

Pressure-induced Raman spectroscopy studies on n-pentane have been carried out up to 17 GPa at ambient temperature. n-Pentane undergoes a liquid-solid transition around 3.0 GPa and a solid-solid transition around 12.3 GPa. The intensity ratio of the Raman modes related to all-trans conformation (1130 cm-1 and 2850 cm-1) to that of gauche conformation (1090 cm-1 and 2922 cm-1) suggests an increase in the gauche population conformers above 12.3 GPa. This is accompanied with broadening of Raman modes above 12.3 GPa. The high-pressure phase of n-pentane above 12.3 GPa is a disordered phase where the carbon chains are kinked. The pressure-induced order-disorder phase transition is different from the behavior of higher hydrocarbon like n-heptane.     

Pressure-induced structural phase transition in the half-Heusler compound CaAuBi

We report a structural phase transition of the ternary compound CaAuBi under pressure, from the known cubic half-Heusler phase to a hexagonal LiGaGe type phase, based on synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns taken under pressures up to 18 GPa. We report lattice parameters and atomic coordinates, and perform total energy calculations for both the cubic and hexagonal phases under different pressures. Finally, we present a structure map that places CaAuBi in the context of related 18 electron XYZ ternary systems.     

Excited-state mixed valence in transition metal complexes

Mixed valence in the lowest-energy metal-to-ligand charge-transfer excited state of di-(4-acetylpyridine)tetraammineruthenium(II) complexes is defined and analyzed. The excited state has two interchangeably equivalent ligands with different oxidation states. The electronic absorption band energies, selection rules, and bandwidths are analyzed quantitatively in terms of the signs and orientations of the transition dipole moments, sign and magnitude of the coupling, and resonance Raman analysis of displaced normal modes.     

Isotopic effects may induce cooperativity in valence tautomeric transition

The replacing of CH(2)Cl(2) solvent molecules with their deuterated analogues in a Co complex undergoing valence-tautomeric interconversion drastically modifies its magnetic properties giving rise to a thermal hysteresis.     

Polytypic phase transition in alkyl chain-functionalized valence tautomeric complexes

A novel series of valence tautomeric (VT) complexes, [Co(Cnbpy)(3,5-DTBQ)2] (Cnbpy = 4,4'-dialkyl-2,2'-bipyridine (alkyl = (C(n)H(2n+1)) where n = 0 (CoC0bpy), 1 (CoC1bpy), 5 (CoC5bpy), 9 (CoC9bpy) and 13 (CoC13bpy); 3,5-DTBQ = 3,5-di-tert-butylsemiquinonate or catecholate), including two previously reported complexes (CoC0bpy and CoC1bpy), were systematically prepared and their properties examined. Introduction of alkyl groups into VT chromophores leads to unexpected variations in the VT process, depending on the lengths of the alkyl chains. An even more interesting observation is that significant polytypic phase transitions with crystallographic symmetry changes accompanying the abrupt VT conversion are induced for the first time in CoC9bpy and CoC13bpy.     

Pressure-induced transition in Tl2MoO4

Tl₂MoO₄ has been studied under high-pressure by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and optical absorption measurements. A first-order phase transition is observed at 3.5±0.5 GPa. The nature (ordered vs. disordered) of the high-pressure phase strongly depends on the local hydrostatic conditions. Optical absorption measurements tend to show that this transition is concomitant with an electronic structure transformation. Prior to the transition, single crystal X-ray diffraction shows that pressure induces interactions between MoO₄ fragments and the Mo coordination number tends to increase. In addition, the stereoactivity of the lone-pair electrons on the three symmetrically independent Tl-sites is not uniform; while for two sites the stereoactivity decreases with increasing pressures for the third site the stereoactivity increases.     

A two-step valence tautomeric transition in a dinuclear cobalt complex

A dinuclear cobalt complex with cobalt centers bridged by a bis(dioxolene) ligand exhibits a rare two-step valence tautomeric transition.     

Pressure-induced order transition in nanodot-forming diblock copolymers at the air/water interface

Understanding and controlling the processes in block copolymer (BC) monolayers at the air/water interface during surface area compression is a key issue for producing ultrathin films of predetermined morphology with well-defined order and known dimensions. Langmuir isotherms of nanodot-forming BC monolayers generally display a plateau indicative of a 2D phase transition, which has been the subject of various interpretations in the literature. Here, based on investigations of Langmuir-Blodgett and Langmuir-Schaefer nanodot films of PS-P4VP mixed with 3-n-pentadecylphenol (PDP), we show by atomic force microscopy (AFM) that it involves a change in nanodot packing order (from quasi-hexagonal to quasi-square), argued to be a general phenomenon for nanodot BC monolayers. It is accompanied by system-specific conformational changes (as discussed in previous literature), which, in the present case, implicate PDP alkyl chain ordering, as deduced previously from in situ infrared data and indirectly supported here by AFM imaging.     

Atomic SCF valence orbitals for first transition series metals

A consistent set of 4s, 4p, and 3d orbitals are reported that are linear combinations of Slatertype functions for the highest multiplicity term of the configurations 3d ⁿ–2 4s ¹4p ¹ for the metals titanium through copper.Research supported by the National Science Foundation, Grant No.NSF-GP-5498.NIH Predoctoral Fellow (1968–1970).Research Engineer; Dow Chemical Company, Freeport, Texas 77541.     

Pressure-induced disordered substitution alloy in Sb2Te3

A new type of disordered substitution alloy of Sb and Te at above 15.1 GPa was discovered by performing in situ high-pressure angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction experiments on antimony telluride (Sb(2)Te(3)), a topological insulator and thermoelectric material, at room temperature. In this disordered substitution alloy, Sb(2)Te(3) crystallizes into a monoclinic structure with the space group C2/m, which is different from the corresponding high-pressure phase of the similar isostructural compound Bi(2)Te(3). Above 19.8 GPa, Sb(2)Te(3) adopts a body-centered-cubic structure with the disordered atomic array in the crystal lattice. The in situ high-pressure experiments down to about 13 K show that Sb(2)Te(3) undergoes the same phase-transition sequence with increasing pressure at low temperature, with almost the same phase-transition pressures.     

Pressure-induced hydration and order-disorder transition in a synthetic potassium gallosilicate zeolite with gismondine topology

Two high-pressure phases of a potassium gallosilicate with a gismondine framework (K-GaSi-GIS) were characterized using Rietveld refinements of in-situ high-pressure, high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data. The observed response of the K-GaSi-GIS framework under hydrostatic pressure is a gradual flattening of the so-called "double crankshaft" structural chain units. At pressures below 1.0(1) GPa, additional water molecules from the hydrostatic pressure-transmitting medium are inserted into the potassium-water guest network ("pressure-induced hydration") resulting in a "super-hydrated" high-pressure phase I. As the flattening of the double crankshaft structural units in the GIS framework continues above 1.6 GPa, the ellipticity of the cross-linking 8-ring windows is reduced below a certain threshold, and a disordering of the potassium-water guest structure along the 8-ring channel, characteristic of a disordered high-pressure phase II, is observed. The concerted framework distortion and guest network disordering accommodates the increased hydration level while maintaining the seven-fold coordination environment of the potassium cations to framework oxygen atoms and water molecules. We have thus established the atomistic details of a guest-host order-disorder transition under pressure-induced hydration conditions in a zeolite with GIS framework and compared it to other zeolites during pressure-induced hydration. We find that the structural changes mediated by the extra-framework cations and their coordination environment under PIH conditions are at the core of these different mechanisms and are driving the changes in the ellipticity of pore openings, order-disorder and disorder-order transitions, and framework distortions.     

Pressure-induced metastable phase transition in orthoenstatite (MgSiO3) at room temperature: a Raman spectroscopic study

Phase behavior of a synthetic orthoenstatite in a diamond-anvil cell has been studied up to ∼22 GPa by using Raman spectroscopy at room temperature. Under quasi-hydrostatic conditions, orthoenstatite undergoes a reversible phase transformation at an apparent transition pressure of ∼10 GPa for compression and ∼9.5 GPa for decompression. The 3d transition-metal cations, e.g., Fe²⁺ and Ni²⁺, show only a minor effect on the transition pressure within 10 wt% of addition. All the Raman frequencies in both orthoenstatite and its high-pressure phase increase monotonically with increasing pressure. The amount of forward or backward transition is fixed at a given pressure and forms a hysteresis loop in the transition %-pressure plan. The type for the present metastable phase transition is inferred to be of first order and the high-pressure polymorph may be the intermediate between orthoenstatite and the high-pressure clinoenstatite (i.e., the high-P C2/c phase). A mechanism based on Mnyukh's edgewise model of interface motion has been suggested to account for the observed phenomena.     

Siloxane clusters of higher valence transition metals: Redox properties

Cyclic voltammetric behaviour of polymetallic complexes of hexaphenylyclohexasiloxane-hexaol with Ni, Mn and dodecaphenyl-cyclododecasiloxane-dodecaol with Cu was studied. The complexes react electrochemically as a unit assembly of the complexed metals     

Pressure-induced buckling of spin ladder in SrCu2O3

Pressure-induced structural phase transition of spin ladder compound SrCu2O3 was investigated by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction with a diamond anvil cell (DAC). The change was characterized by a buckling of the Cu2O3 plane in the rung direction of the ladder. The structure of the high-pressure phase was found to be essentially the same as that of CaCu2O3. Application of an external pressure of 3.4 GPa therefore affected the structure in the same manner that the chemical (internal) pressure does.     

Erratum: Separability between valence and conduction bands in transition metal clusters

Density Functional Theory (DFT) and direct ab initio molecular dynamics (MD) calculations were applied to the hydrogen molecule trapped in a water cluster composed of 12 water molecules (H₂O)₁₂. The static DFT calculation showed that the H₂ molecule is trapped in the center of mass of (H₂O)₁₂. The vibrational frequency of the H–H stretching mode of the H₂ molecule trapped in the water cluster was blueshifted from that in vacuo. On the other hand, the vibrational frequency of H₂ in water‐hydrogen 1:1 complex (H₂O–H₂) was redshifted. A direct ab initio MD calculation of H₂(H₂O)₁₂ at 50 K indicated that the H₂ molecule is rotated freely around the center of mass of the water cluster. The origin of the spectral shift of H₂ in water ice is discussed on the basis of the theoretical results. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2005     

Pressure-induced metallization in the absence of a structural transition in the layered transition-metal dichalcogenide ZrSe2

First-principles calculations were carried out on the ZrSe₂ compound, which has been of interest owing to its technologically important physical properties. The structural, electronic and optical properties of this compound were investigated under pressure through the plane wave pseudopotential approach within the framework of density functional theory. A comparison between the computed crystal structure parameters and the corresponding experimental counterparts shows a very good agreement between them. Fitting the pressure–volume data using the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state yielded a bulk modulus B₀ = 38.17 GPa and a pressure derivative of bulk modulus  = 8.2 for hexagonal ZrSe₂. The relationship between the band structure and pressure is revealed. We calculated the total density of state (TDOS) under different pressures and partial density of state (PDOS) from 0 to 10 GPa. According to our calculations, metallization of hexagonal ZrSe₂ is predicted to occur at around 10 GPa and pressure-induced band-gap engineering reveals the transformation of the indirect to direct band gap with increasing pressure. Furthermore, optical properties, such as the complex dielectric function, refractive index and reflectivity spectra of this compound, were studied for incident electromagnetic waves in an energy range up to 45 eV. The contributions to various transition peaks in the optical spectra are analyzed and discussed with the help of the energy-dependent imaginary part of the dielectric function.     

Molecule-based valence tautomeric bistability synchronized with a macroscopic crystal-melt phase transition

Here, we show a synchronic bistability of valence tautomeric (VT) molecular interconversion and a macroscopic crystal-melt phase transition in long alkoxy-functionalized cobalt-dioxolene complexes. Studies have been carried out for a novel series of complexes, [Co(CnOpy) 2(3,6-DTBQ)2] (3,5-dialkoxy(C(n)H2(n+1)O-; n = 9, 12, and 17)pyridine (CnOpy) and 3,6-di-tert-butyl semiquinonate or catecholate ligands (3,6-DTBQ)). All complexes show the molecular VT interconversion with thermal hysteresis attributed to the synchronous crystal-melt phase transition. Thermodynamic analysis has revealed that the molecular VT interconversion is restricted over 50 K and crystal-melt phase transition is accelerated about 50 K by the synchronicity. The synchronicity is attributed to enthalpic and entropic effects of the alkoxy chains in the crystalline phase of the one tautomer and the melt phase of the other, respectively. Our results show efficient chemical and thermodynamic strategies to combine molecule-based and macroscopic bistabilities.