On the synthesis of AlPO4-21 molecular sieve by vapor phase transport method and its phase transformation to AlPO4-15 molecular sieve

An experimental design was applied to the synthesis of AlPO₄-21 molecular sieve (AWO structure) by vapor phase transport (VPT) method, using tetramethylguanidine (TMG) as the template. In this study, the effects of crystallization time, crystallization temperature, phosphor content, template content and water content in the synthesis gel were investigated. The materials obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Microstructural analysis of the crystal growth in vapor synthetic conditions revealed a revised crystal growth route from zeolite AlPO₄-21 to AlPO₄-15 in the presence of the TMG. Homogenous hexagonal prism AlPO₄-21 crystals with size of 7 × 3 μm were synthesized at a lower temperature (120 °C), which were completely different from the typical tabular parallelogram crystallization microstructure of AlPO₄-21 phase. The crystals were transformed into AlPO₄-21 phase with higher crystallization temperature, longer crystallization time, higher P₂O₅/Al₂O₃ ratio and higher TMG/Al₂O₃ ratio.     

Search for a precursor crystal-to-crystal phase transition to amorphization in α-GeO2 and α-AlPO4 under pressure

Recent X-ray diffraction studies on α-quartz (SiO₂) by Kingmaet al [1], have shown the occurrence of a reversible, crystalline-to-crystalline, phase transition just prior to amorphization at ≈ 21 GPa. This precursor transition has also been confirmed by our recent molecular dynamics simulation study [2]. In order to investigate the possibility of a similar behaviour in other isostructural compounds, which also undergo pressure induced amorphization, α-GeO₂ and α-AlPO₄ (berlinite form) were studied using energy dispersive X-ray diffraction. In either of these materials, no such phase transition is detected prior to amorphization. The onset of amorphization and its reversal is found to be time dependent in GeO₂.     

Radiation induced microstructural evolution and amorphization of intermetallic compounds

Abstract

A theoretical model is developed to study the influence of radiation-induced microstructural evolution on the amorphization kinetics of intermetallic compounds. The amorphization mechanism is assumed to be the buildup to a critical level of defect complexes. A complex consists of a coupled interstitial-vacancy pair. It is shown that the process of amorphization under particle bombardment is obstructed in alloy systems in which interstitials exhibit a tendency to cluster. In these systems, interstitial clustering delays the buildup of complexes. Under electron irradiation, the complex concentration attains a very low level after high doses, and the crystalline-to-amorphous transition is inhibited down to fairly low temperatures. During heavy ion bombardment, cascade damage produces an enhancement of complex formation and the transition takes place. It is shown that the kinetics of amorphization under ion bombardment depends on temperature at low temperatures, where amorphization is mostly due to complex accumulation. On the other hand, the present analyses indicate that direct in-cascade amorphization becomes more important as the bombardment temperature increases. Zr₃Al is used as a model system. The theoretical calculations yield good agreement with experimental results.     

Anomalous pressure-induced phase transformation in nano-crystalline erbium sesquioxide (Er2O3): partial amorphization under compression

Nanophase materials have novel physical and chemical properties, differing from bulk materials. It is of exceptional interest to investigate the size effect on structural stability in nanocrystals. Here, we investigated pressure-induced phase transitions in nanosized Er₂O₃ using angle-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction up to 40.6 GPa. Nano-Er₂O₃ has enhanced transition pressure and higher bulk modulus (K₀) than its bulk counterparts. Amorphous Er₂O₃ nanoclusters with traces of monoclinic phase are obtained upon compression. This is the first time that partial amorphous structure under compression was observed in nano-Er₂O₃, indicating a kinetic trapping of partial amorphous Er₂O₃ on pressurizing.     

Structural studies of AgSbTe2 under pressure: Experimental and theoretical analyses

The crystal structure of AgSbTe₂ has been refined using first-principles calculations, from which the ordering of the cations, Ag and Sb, was confirmed. The spontaneous formation of two (D4 and L1₁) phases at ambient and elevated pressure was demonstrated theoretically. The compound was also prepared and its high-pressure structural deformation sequence, ranging from ambient to 50.9 GPa, was observed with synchrotron radiation at room temperature. The compound underwent a pressure-induced amorphization (PIA) at 24.6 GPa and then started recrystallizing at 49.2 GPa. The bulk modulus (B₀) and pressure derivative of the bulk modulus (B_p) were determined experimentally to be 56.3 ± 5.1 GPa and 4.3 ± 0.8, respectively. We suggest that large displacements of Te atoms to Ag vacancy positions are responsible for PIA and the recrystallization.     

Incommensurate cooperative tilting modes of MnF6 octahedra relatedto the structural phasetransitions in BaMnF4

The structural phase transitions of the layer compound BaMnF₄ were studied by high-resolution X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. The intensities and profiles of two kinds of superlattice reflections having incommensurate reduced wave vectors q ₁= (～ ± 1/5,0,0) _p and q ₂ =(～ ± 2/5,1/2,1/2)_p, respectively, were measured as a function of temperature from 25 K to 280 K. These temperature dependencies show that incommensurate structural phase transitions of second order occur at 234 K and 244 K. These structural phase transitions are interpreted as successive condensations of a folding-screen-like incommensurate plane-distortion mode and a commensurate anti-ferro-distortive tilting mode of the MnF₆ octahedra around the primitive a₀ - and b₀ -axes, when cooled down. It is also found that there is another structural phase transition at about 45 K related to a precursor structural distortion for the antiferromagnetic transition occurring at about 26 K.     

Structure and luminescent properties of LaNbO4 synthesized by sol-gel process

The luminescence properties of LaNbO₄ synthesized by the citric gel process were investigated. The crystallized orthorhombic and monoclinic biphasic structure forms at temperatures below 1100 °C and well-crystallized monoclinic LaNbO₄ is obtained by heat treatment at a temperature of 1200 °C for 3 h. All of LaNbO₄ phosphors derived from the citric gel method exhibit red-shifted excitation spectra as the calcining temperature increased from 700 to 1200 °C. The effect of the heat treatment conditions on the peak shape and the peak positions of the photoluminescence (PL) emission are undetectable, and the PL spectra excited at 260 nm have a blue emission band maximum at 408 nm, corresponding to the self-activated luminescence center of LaNbO₄. The sample heat treated at 1100 °C for 3 h showed the highest absorption and fluorescence intensities among the prepared samples.     

Thermally-induced cation disorder in LiFePO4

LiFePO₄ has a fully ordered olivine structure in samples prepared by solid state reaction below ~ 800 °C but, with increasing temperature, a small amount of Li and Fe site exchange occurs reaching a value of about 4% just below melting at 975 °C. The disorder is reversible on annealing at lower temperatures and is detected by changes in lattice parameters and in cation site occupancies obtained by Rietveld refinement of X-ray powder diffraction data.     

辐照诱发中间相Zr(Cr,Fe)2非晶化的原位电子显微研究

在美国Argonne国家实验室连接有IVEM-Tandem National Facility加速器的Hitatch3000电子显微镜上,通过能量600keV及注量率为2.5×1012cm-2·s-1的Ne离子原位辐照,研究了锆-4合金中沉淀相hcp Zr(Cr,Fe)2的重离子辐照效应,结果表明：600keV的Ne离子在350℃原位辐照至0.2dpa时,hcp-Zr(Cr,Fe)2沉淀相的层错条纹开始消失;0.8dpa时沉淀相的电子衍射斑点大部分消失,发生明显的化学无序;2.7dpa时明场像衬度完全消失,非晶环已非常明显,表明沉淀相已经非晶化。600keV的Ne离子在350℃辐照hcp-Zr(Cr,Fe)2相非晶化的临界损伤离位率约为2.7dpa。     

First-order character of the displacive structural transition in BaWO4

Nearly all displacive transitions have been considered to be continuous or second order, and the rigid unit mode （RUM） provides a natural candidate for the soft mode. However, in-situ X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements show clearly the first-order evidences for the scheelite-to-fergusonite displacive transition in SaWO4： a 1.6% volume collapse, coexistence of phases, and hysteresis on release of pressure. Such first-order signatures are found to be the same as the soft modes in BaWO4, which indicates the scheelite-to-fergusonite displacive phase transition hides a deeper physical mechanism. By the refinement of atomic displacement parameters, we further show that the first-order character of this phase transition stems from a coupling of large compression of soft BaOs polyhedrons to the small displacive distortion of rigid WO4 tetrahedrons. Such a coupling will lead to a deeper physical insight in the phase transition of the common scheelite-structured compounds.     

Studies of structure, thermal, and electrical properties for Cs 5 H 3 (SO 4 ) 4 crystal

Electrical conductivity, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction measurements were performed on a pentacesium trihydrogen tetrasulfate, Cs₅H₃(SO₄)₄, crystal. The transition entropy at a superionic phase transition and the activation energy of proton migrations in the superionic phase were determined to be 58.2 J K⁻¹ mol⁻¹ and 0.48 eV, respectively. The crystal structure of Cs₅H₃(SO₄)₄ at room temperature was refined. The electrical conduction in Cs₅H₃(SO₄)₄ was discussed with the refined structure.     

High-pressure effect on inverse spinel LiCuVO4:X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering

The effect of external quasi-hydrostatic pressure on the inverse spinel structure of LiCuVO 4 was studied in this paper. High-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements were carried out at room temperature up to 35.7 and 40.3 GPa, respectively. At a pressure of about 20 GPa, both Raman spectra and X-ray diffraction results indicate that LiCuVO4 was transformed into a monoclinic phase, which remained stable up to at least 35.7 GPa. Upon release of pressure, the high-pressure phase returned to the initial phase. The pressure dependence of the volume of low pressure orthorhombic phase and high-pressure monoclinic phase were described by a second-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, which yielded bulk modulus values of B 0 = 197(5) and 232(8) GPa, respectively. The results support the empirical suggestion that the oxide spinels have similar bulk modulus around 200 GPa.     

Synthesis and effect of Ce co-doping on photoluminescence characteristics of KZnSO4Cl: M (M=Dy or Mn) new phosphors

In the present paper KZnSO₄Cl:Ce³⁺, KZnSO₄Cl:Ce³⁺, Dy³⁺ and KZnSO₄Cl:Ce³⁺, Mn²⁺ new halosulfate phosphors were synthesized by wet chemical method. XRD and photoluminescence characterization of phosphors has been reported in this paper.     

Elastic and plastic deformation of NaCl and Ni3Al polycrystals during compression in a multi-anvil apparatus

Abstract

The compression behaviour in a multi-anvil apparatus of pure NaCl and of a foil of Ni₃Al embedded in a pressure medium of NaCl has been studied by energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. At ambient temperature, the pressure and stresses, determined from line positions of NaCl, were constant throughout the sample chamber. Line positions and line widths of NaCl reflections were reversible on pressure release. A saturation of microstrains observed in NaCl at 2 GPa is thus attributed to brittle fracture setting in at uniaxial stresses of around 0.3 GPa. Ni₃Al polycrystals, in contrast, undergo extensive (ductile) plastic deformation above 4 GPa. The compression behaviour of both Ni₃Al and NaCl is identical to that previously determined in a diamond anvil cell. While a multi-anvil device thus has the advantage, compared with a diamond anvil cell, of constant pressure and stress throughout the sample chamber, microstrains in poly-crystalline samples arise in both devices. Samples in a multi-anvil apparatus thus need to be mixed with a pressure medium and to consist of essentially single crystals just as in a diamond anvil cell. Annealing experiments at high pressures confirm that the release of the uniaxial stress component in the pressure medium does not cause a release of microstrains in the embedded sample if the latter has been plastically deformed. Annealing for the purpose of attaining hydrostatic conditions in compression studies thus has to be carried out with care.     

High pressure X-ray diffraction study on BaWO4-II

BaWO₄-II has been synthesized at 5 GPa and 610°C. Its high pressure behavior was studied by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements at room temperature up to 17 GPa. BaWO₄-II retains its monoclinic structure. Bulk and axial moduli determined by fitting a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state to lattice parameters are: K ₀=86.2±1.9 GPa, K ₀(a)=56.0±0.9 GPa, K ₀(b)=85.3±2.4 GPa, and K ₀(c)=146.1±3.2 GPa with a fixed K′=4. Analysis of axial compressible modulus shows that the a-axis is 2.61 times more compressible than the c-axis and 1.71 times more compressible than the b-axis. The beta angle decreases smoothly between room pressure and 17 GPa from 93.78° to 90.90°.     

High-pressure in-situ X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy of Ca2AlFeO5 brownmillerite

The behavior of Ca₂AlFeO₅ brownmillerite was studied by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy at 300?K with pressures up to 26.5 and 32.1 GPa, respectively. A reversible structural phase transition was observed. The P–V data were fitted by a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, and the isothermal bulk modulus was obtained as K₀?=?181.9(76) GPa with K₀′_?=?4.4(17). If K₀′ was fixed to 4, K₀ was obtained as 183.8(20) GPa. Ca₂AlFeO₅ brownmillerite shows an axial elastic anisotropy since the b-axis is more compressible than a- and c-axis. Combined with previous results, the isothermal bulk modulus and axial compressibility of Ca₂AlFeO₅ brownmillerite increase with more Al incorporated in the structure. The Raman spectra of Ca₂AlFeO₅ brownmillerite were analyzed and the pressure coefficients vary from 2.23 to 4.90?cm^?1/GPa. The isothermal mode Grüneisen parameters range from 0.83 to 1.77 and the thermal Grüneisen parameter is determined as 1.08(11).     

Luminescence in trivalent rare earth activated Sr4Al2O7 phosphor

In this paper we report the combustion synthesis of trivalent rare-earth (RE³⁺ = Dy, Eu and Ce) activated Sr₄Al₂O₇ phosphor. The prepared phosphors were characterized by the X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. Photoluminescence emission peaks of Sr₄Al₂O₇:Dy³⁺ phosphor at 474 nm and 578 nm in the blue and yellow region of the spectrum. The prepared Eu³⁺ doped phosphors were excited by 395 nm then we found that the characteristics emission of europium ions at 615 nm (⁵D₀?⁷F₂) and 592 nm (⁵D₀?⁷F₁). Photoluminescence (PL) peaks situated at wavelengths of 363 and 378 nm in the UV region under excitation at around 326 nm in the Sr₄Al₂O₇:Ce³⁺ phosphor.     

Pressure-induced change of the interlayer exchange interaction from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic in CS2CuF4 observed by neutron scattering experiments up to 2 GPa

Abstract

Neutron scattering experiments on the two-dimensional Heisenberg ferromagnets Cs₂ CuF₄ and K₂CuF₄ have been performed around 2 ～ 3 GPa over 1·4–15 K. At ambient pressure both the intralayer and the interlayer exchange interactions in these two compounds are ferromagnetic. At about 2 GPa, the interlayer exchange coupling in Cs₂ CuF₄ is found to change from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic, while the ferromagnetic intralayer exchange interaction is maintained. Contrary to Cs₂CuF₄, the ferromagnetism in K₂Cuf₄ is not destroyed by pressure up to 9 GPa, that was confirmed in the early study of the magnetic susceptibility measurements.     

Radiation-induced swelling and amorphization in Ca2Nd8(SiO4)6O2

Specimens of Ca₂Nd₈(SiO₄)₆O₂ were doped with 1.2 wt% ²⁴⁴Cm and the effects of self-radiation damage from alpha decay were determined as a function of cumulative dose. The macroscopic volume of the specimens increased exponentially with dose to a limiting (saturation) value of ～8.0%. The initially crystalline material became completely X-ray amorphous at a dose of 11.7 × 10²⁴ alpha decays/m³. The dissolution rate of the amorphous state was about an order of magnitude higher than the crystalline state. The stored energy of the amorphous state was ～130 J/g. Differential thermal analysis along with isochronal and isothermal-step annealing were used to study the kinetics associated with the thermal recovery of the radiation-induced swelling and amorphization. A single recovery stage associated with recrystallization of the amorphous material was observed and the activation energy was determined to be 3.1±0.2 eV.