Electron Microscopy Characterization of Silicon Dioxide Nanotubes

Well‐developed crystals of [Pt(NH₃)₄](HCO₃)₂ are employed as template for the synthesis of silicon dioxide nanotubes (SiO₂‐NTs). Silicon dioxide, which is produced by a sol‐gel reaction, coats the surface of these crystals and builds up the nanotube walls. In the final step, the Pt‐salt fibers are thermally decomposed and auto‐reduced to metallic Pt nanoparticles. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) investigations of the product confirm the formation of silicon dioxide nanotubes in high yield. The tube walls consist of amorphous silicon dioxide. The tube length generally is 0.5 — 3 μm, while the thickness varies in two distinct ranges: thick tubes have a diameter of 100 — 500 nm and thin ones of approximately 50 nm. Most of the NTs are filled with Pt particles, but others, typically the larger ones with open tube ends, obviously are empty. Presumably, open ends cause the observed Pt loss. In closed SiO₂‐NTs, Pt forms as ca. 10 nm large particles in the tube core and as 1 — 2 nm large particles inside the tube walls.     

Structural, microstructural and vibrational characterization of apatite-type lanthanum silicates prepared by mechanical milling

Apatite-type lanthanum silicates have been successfully prepared at room temperature by dry milling hexagonal A-La₂O₃ and either amorphous or low cristobalite SiO₂. Milling a stochiometric mixture of these chemicals in a planetary ball mill with a moderate rotating disc speed (350 rpm), allows the formation of the target phase after only 3 h although longer milling times are needed to eliminate all SiO₂ and La₂O₃ traces. Thus, the mechanically activated chemical reaction proceeds faster when using amorphous silica instead of low cristobalite as silicon source and pure phases are obtained after only 9 and 18 h, respectively. As obtained powder phases are not amorphous and show an XRD pattern as well as IR and Raman bands characteristic of the lanthanum silicate. The domain size of the as-prepared phases varies gradually with the temperature of post-milling thermal treatment with activation energies of about 26(8) and 52(10) kJ mol⁻¹ K⁻¹ for the apatites obtained from amorphous silica and low-cristobalite, respectively. These values suggest crystallite growth to be favored when using amorphous silica as reactant.     

State of uranyl silicates MII(HSiUO6)2 ·6H2O (MII=Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) in aqueous solutions

Uranyl silicates with formula M^II(HSiUO₆)₂·6H₂O (M^II=Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) were investigated in aqueous solutions in the pH range of 0÷14. The pH interval was established where compounds preserve their composition and structure. It varies in the pH range of (3.5–4.0)÷(10.8–11.4) and depends on M^II type. Out of this pH interval investigated uranyl silicates convert to the compounds of other composition and structure, such as amorphous silica, polyuranates and hydroxides of 3d-transition elements. The solubility of M^II(HSiUO₆)₂·6H₂O was determined, it’s value changes on the several orders of magnitude from 10^?6 M in subalkali solutions to 10^?3 M in acid and strongly alkaline media. Using obtained experimental data the solubility products and solubility curves of uranyl silicates were calculated by mathematical modeling. Also the speciation diagrams of uranium (VI), silicon (IV) and M (II) in solutions and solids were plotted.     

An Uncommon Hypervalent Fluorooxosilicophosphate

The species diversity of silicon (including traditional tetrahedral coordinated silicon and hypervalent penta‐ and hexa‐coordinate silicon) gives rise to the structural richness and diverse properties of silicates. Among these silicon species, hypervalent silicon is very rare, not to mention almost unexplored mixed‐anion hypervalent fluoroxosilicate species. In this work, we successfully obtained a mixed‐anion fluorooxosilicophosphate Na4Si2PO4F9 consisting of two uncommon hypervalent fluoroxosilicate species, namely, trans‐SiO2F4 species and SiOF₅ species. To the best of our knowledge, such hypervalent silicon species are reported for the first time in inorganic compounds. Remarkably, the coexistence of two distinct hypervalent fluoroxosilicate species in one compound is somewhat conflicted with Pauling's parsimony rule, but it indeed achieves an unlikely connection by PO₄ and our phonon dispersion calculation confirms the structure stability of Na₄Si₂PO₄F₉. Temperature‐dependent conductivity measurements show that Na₄Si₂PO₄F₉ is a promising solid ionic conductor with a high conductivity of 4.0×10^?5 S?cm^?1 at 700 K and a low active energy of about 53.1 KJ?mol^?1. This work will enrich the structure chemistry of silicates and may provide a new platform for solid ionic batteries.     

Controlling Ethylene Hydrogenation Reactivity on Pt13 Clusters by Varying the Stoichiometry of the Amorphous Silica Support

Ethylene hydrogenation was investigated on size‐selected Pt₁₃ clusters supported on three amorphous silica (a‐SiO₂) thin films with different stoichiometries. Activity measurements of the reaction at 300 K revealed that on a silicon‐rich and a stoichiometric film, Pt₁₃ exhibits a similar activity to that of Pt(111), in line with the known structure insensitivity of the reaction. On an oxygen‐rich film, a threefold increased rate was measured. Pulsing ethylene at 400 K, then measuring the activity at 300 K, resulted in complete loss of activity on the silicon‐rich surface compared to only marginal losses on the other surfaces. The measured reactivity trends correlate with charging characteristics of a Pt₁₃ cluster on the SiO₂ films, predicted through first‐principle calculations. The results reveal that the stoichiometry‐dependent charging by the support can be used to tune the selectivity of reaction pathways during a catalytic hydrogenation reaction.     

Sol‐Gel‐Process in the Ammono‐System – a Novel Access to Silicon Based Nitrides

Controlled coammonolysis of elementalkylamides in aprotic organic solvents at low temperatures have been shown to result in the formation of polyazanes. The synthetic procedure developed may be addressed as “sol‐gel‐route in the ammono system”. Pyrolysis of these novel polymer precursors gave access to multinary nitrides. For the model systems Si(NHMe)₄/B(NMe₂)₃, Si(NHMe)₄/Ti(NMe₂)₄, and Si(NHMe)₄/Ta(NMe₂)₅ polymeric boro‐, titano and tantalosilazanes were obtained. Pyrolysis in ammonia at 1000 °C yielded amorphous silicon boron nitride, silicon titanium nitride and silicon tantalum nitride powders; further heating of the nitride powders at 1500 °C in nitrogen atmosphere led to the formation of partly crystalline composites of α‐Si₃N₄ and amorphous silicon boron nitride for the Si/B/N system, a composite of finely dispersed TiN and amorphous silicon titanium nitride for the Si/Ti/N system, and crystalline TaN and amorphous silicon nitride for the Si/Ta/N system. Furthermore, the structure and pyrolysis chemistry of the polymeric intermediates, as well as the morphology of the pyrolysis products, were studied by NMR, MAS‐NMR, FT‐IR, DTA‐TG‐MS, XRD, SEM, EDX and elemental analyses.     

Stabilization of p-block organoelement terminal hydroxides, thiols, and selenols requires newer synthetic strategies

Metal hydroxides represent a very interesting and highly useful class of compounds that have been known to chemists for a very long time. While alkali and alkaline earth metal hydroxides (s‐block) are commonplace chemicals in terms of their abundance and their use in a chemical laboratory as bases, the interest in Brønsted acidic molecular terminal hydroxides of p‐block elements, such as aluminum and silicon, has been of recent origin, with respect to the variety of applications these compounds can offer both in materials science and catalysis. Moreover, these systems are environmentally friendly, relative to the metal halides, owing to their ‐OH functionality (resembling that of water). Design and conceptualization of the corresponding terminal thiols, selenols, and tellurols (M? SH, M? SeH, and M? TeH) offer even more challenging problems to synthetic inorganic chemists. This concept summarizes some of the recent strategies developed to stabilize these otherwise very unstable species. The successful preparation of a number of silicon trihydroxides a few years back resulted in the generation of several model compounds for metal–silicates. The recent synthesis of unusual aluminum compounds such as RAl(OH)₂, RAl(SH)₂, and RAl(SeH)₂ with terminal EH (E=O, Se, or Se) groups is likely to change the ways in which some of the well‐known catalytic conversions are being carried out. The need for very flexible and innovative synthetic strategies to achieve these unusual compounds is emphasized in this concept.     

Synthesis and characterization of silica gel from siliceous sands of southern Tunisia

The present work aimed to achieve valorization of Albian sands for the preparation of sodium silicates that are commonly used as a precursor to prepare silica gel. A siliceous sand sample was mixed with sodium carbonate and heated at a high temperature (1060 °C) to prepare sodium silicates. The sodium silicates were dissolved in distilled water to obtain high quality sodium silicate solution. Hydrochloric acid was then slowly added to the hydrated sodium silicates to obtain silica gel. The collected raw siliceous sands, as well as the prepared silica gels, were characterized by different techniques, such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal analysis (DSC). XRF confirmed that the detrital sand deposits of southern Tunisia contain high amounts of silica, with content ranging from 88.8% to 97.5%. The internal porosity varied between 17% and 22%, and the specific surface area was less than 5 m²/g. After the treatment described above, it was observed that the porosity of the obtained silica gel reached 57% and the specific surface area exceeded 340 m²/g. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms showed that the prepared silica gels are microporous and mesoporous materials with high adsorption capacities. These results suggest that the obtained silica gels are promising materials for numerous environmental applications.     

Synthese,Kristallstruktur und festkörper‐NMR‐spektroskopische Untersuchung neuer Oxonitridosilicate der Mischkristallreihe Ba4−xCaxSi6N10O

The new oxonitridosilicates Ba_4?xCa_xSi₆N₁₀O have been synthesized by means of high‐temperature synthesis in a radio‐frequency furnace, starting from calcium, barium, silicon diimide and amorphous silicon dioxide. The maximum reaction temperature was at about 1450 °C. The solid solution series Ba_4?xCa_xSi₆N₁₀O with a phase width 1.81 ≤ x ≤ 2.95 was obtained. The crystal structure of Ba_1.8Ca_2.2Si₆N₁₀O was determined by X‐ray single‐crystal structure determination (P2₁3, no. 198), a = 1040.2(1) pm, Z = 4, wR2 = 0.082). It can be described as a highly condensed network of corner‐sharing SiN₄ and SiON₃ tetrahedra, the voids of which are occupied by the alkaline earth ions. The structure is isotypic with that of BaEu(Ba_0.5Eu_0.5)YbSi₆N₁₁. In the ²⁹Si solid‐state MAS‐NMR spectrum two isotropic resonances at ?50.0 and ?53.6 ppm were observed.     

Amorphous Silicon: New Insights into an Old Material

Amorphous silicon is synthesized by treating the tetrahalosilanes SiX₄ (X=Cl, F) with molten sodium in high boiling polar and non‐polar solvents such as diglyme or nonane to give a brown or a black solid showing different reactivities towards suitable reagents. With regards to their technical relevance, their stability towards oxygen, air, moisture, chlorine‐containing reaction partners RCl (R=H, Cl, Me) and alcohols is investigated. In particular, reactions with methanol are a versatile tool to deliver important products. Besides tetramethoxysilane formation, methanolysis of silicon releases hydrogen gas under ambient conditions and is thus suitable for a decentralized hydrogen production; competitive insertion into the MeO?H versus the Me?OH bond either yields H‐ and/or methyl‐substituted methoxy functional silanes. Moreover, compounds, such as Me_nSi(OMe)_4?n (n=0–3) are simply accessible in more than 75 % yield from thermolysis of, for example, tetramethoxysilane over molten sodium. Based on our systematic investigations we identified reaction conditions to produce the methoxysilanes Me_nSi(OMe)_4?n in excellent (n=0:100 %) to acceptable yields (n=1:51 %; n=2:27 %); the yield of HSi(OMe)₃ is about 85 %. Thus, the methoxysilanes formed might possibly open the door for future routes to silicon‐based products.     

Multi‐shaped Amorphous Alloy Ni‐B: Ultrasonically Aided Complexing‐reduction Preparation,Catalytic Ability for NaBH4 Hydrolysis Yielding H2 Gas

The multi‐shaped amorphous alloy (Ni‐B) powders were prepared by complexing reduction route using sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) as reductant with assistance of ultrasonic wave. The selected complexants, i.e. water, ammonia, salicylic acid, and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) possess sequentially escalating complexation ability. The chemical composition and shapes of the product samples obtained under different conditions were characterized by X‐ray powder differaction, selected area electron diffraction, and transmission electron microscope. The influence of reaction conditions such as the types of Ni‐B, temperatures, NaBH₄ concentrations, and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) content on the hydrogen generation rate of hydrolysis of NaBH₄ solution were investigated in detail. The results show that the as‐prepared Ni‐B powders all belong to amorphous alloy with variable element contents, and the Ni‐B sample prepared from EDTA complexation, possessing the best fineness and dispersity, has the strongest catalytic activity. The mean apparent activation energy of the hydrolysis reaction is 64.90 kJ · mol^–1. The NaBH₄ concentration has little impact on hydrogen generation rate, implying that the catalytic hydrolysis of NaBH₄ solution should be the pseudo zero‐order reaction. Keeping the NaOH content at below 5 % could inhibit the hydrolysis of NaBH₄ solution, but the NaOH contents from 10 % to 15 % will significantly promote the hydrolysis rate of NaBH₄. The hydrolysis reaction mechanisms, especially the effect of NaOH content on the hydrolysis reaction were also analyzed.     

An Engineered Superhydrophilic/Superaerophobic Electrocatalyst Composed of the Supported CoMoSx Chalcogel for Overall Water Splitting

The development of high‐efficiency electrocatalysts for large‐scale water splitting is critical but also challenging. In this study, a hierarchical CoMoS_x chalcogel was synthesized on a nickel foam (NF) through an in situ metathesis reaction and demonstrated excellent activity and stability in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline media. The high catalytic activity could be ascribed to the abundant active sites/defects in the amorphous framework and promotion of activity through cobalt doping. Furthermore, the superhydrophilicity and superaerophobicity of micro‐/nanostructured CoMoS_x/NF promoted mass transfer by facilitating access of electrolytes and ensuring fast release of gas bubbles. By employing CoMoS_x/NF as bifunctional electrocatalysts, the overall water splitting device delivered a current density of 500 mA cm^?2 at a low voltage of 1.89 V and maintained its activity without decay for 100 h.     

Single‐Nanoparticle Collision Events: Tunneling Electron Transfer on a Titanium Dioxide Passivated n‐Silicon Electrode

Single‐nanoparticle collisions were observed on an n‐type silicon electrode (600 μm diameter) passivated by a thin layer of amorphous TiO₂, where the current steps occurred by tunneling electron transfer. The observed collision frequency was in reasonable agreement with that predicted from theory. The isolated electrode, after a collision experiment, with a Pt/TiO₂/n‐Si architecture was shown to retain the photoelectrochemical properties of n‐Si without photocorrosion or current decay. The Pt/TiO₂/n‐Si electrode produced 19 mA cm^?2 of photocurrent density under 100 mW cm^?2 irradiation from a xenon lamp during oxygen evolution without current fading for over 12 h.     

A theoretical study of lithium absorption in amorphous and crystalline silicon

Lithium absorption in silicon is studied at the DFT level. By means of the developed method of modeling the structure of amorphous silicon, including with impurities, it is shown that with an increase in the lithium concentration intermediate amorphous Li _x Si _y phases, up to the crystalline Li₁₅Si₄ phase, form in crystalline silicon. An increase in the silicon cell volume, as it is filled with lithium, is calculated. A nonlinear dependence of silicon voltage on lithium intercalation is found. The lithium diffusion coefficient in crystalline silicon at a low lithium concentration is calculated and it is demonstrated for amorphous silicon that lithium diffusion is substantially accelerated by the lattice deformation inherent in amorphous silicon. The calculated values can be used in the production of high-capacity lithium ion batteries with a silicon anode.     

Synthesis and Structure of (CH3Si)6(NH)9: A Si–N Cage Made from Methyltrichlorosilane and Ammonia

No bulky substituents are bonded to the silicon centers of the cagelike title compound 1 , which is readily formed by reaction of methyltrichlorosilane with ammonia and sodium. According to X-ray structure analysis, 1 consists of two Si₃N₃ rings in the chair conformation that are bridged through the silicon centers by NH groups. The result is a cage in which three bars are missing, as can be seen on the right.     

One‐Step Synthesis of Amorphous Silver Silicates with Tunable Light Absorption Spectra and Photocatalytic Activities in the Visible Region

A series of amorphous silver silicates with different compositions were synthesized for the first time by one‐step co‐precipitation. Silicate ions were found to have important role on determining visible light absorption and photocatalytic activities of amorphous silver silicates, and the sample with Ag/Si ratio of 3.20 exhibits optimal photocatalytic activity.     

Präkeramische Polyazane über die Sol‐Gel‐Route im Ammonosystem und aus molekularen Einkomponentenvorläufern — ein Leistungsvergleich

Preceramic Polyazanes via Sol Gel Route in the Ammono System and via Molecular Single Source Precursors — a Comparison of Performance All steps of the sol gel process in the oxo system can be transferred analogously to the ammono system. For this purpose, element alkyl amides of titanium, zirconium, tantalum and boron, have been co‐ammonolised with silicon alkyl amides in aprotic solvents. Pyrolysis of the resulting polyazanes yields multinary nitridic ceramic powders. For the model systems Si(NHMe)₄/Ti(NMe₂)₄, Si(NHMe)₄/Zr(NMe₂)₄, Si(NHMe)₄/Ta(NMe₂)₅, and Si(NHMe)₄/B(NMe₂)₃ the corresponding polymeric polyboro‐, polytitano‐, polyzirkono‐ and polytantalosilazanes were synthesised. Pyrolysis in flowing ammonia at 1000°C results in ternary amorphous silicon nitrides; further heating in nitrogen leads to partly crystalline composites. The process of pyrolysis as well as the morphology and composition of the final pyrolysis products were analysed by means of NMR, MAS‐NMR, FT‐IR, DTA‐TG‐MS, XRD, SEM, EDX, and elemental analyses. In order to verify this new and convenient access to multinary nitride ceramics, single source precursors were synthesised and, via polymer intermediates, processed to ceramic powders. A specially developed reaction sequence is generally applicable to syntheses of single source precursors for various ternary metal silicon nitrides. Dilithiated silazanes of the type Si(NMe₂)₂(NLiR)₂, with R = t‐Butyl, SiMe₃, CH₃, synthesised and structurally characterised for the first time, are good silicon synthones. While forming nitrido bridges, those compounds react with e.g. two‐ or four valent transition metal chlorides, to silicon transition metal adducts. Actually, we have analysed the reaction of Si(NMe₂)₂(NLiR)₂ and TiCl₄, ZrCl₄, TaCl₅, CrCl₃, MnCl₂, and ZnCl₂, respectively. The adducts as formed were crosslinked with ammonia and pyrolysed. In the case of the chlorides of the 4.—6. group metals, amorphous ceramics were obtained. Treatment at higher temperatures results in composites of transition metal nitride and an amorphous matrix. MnSiN₂ and a new hexagonal modification of ZnSiN₂ were obtained in the systems Mn/ Si/ N and Zn/ Si/ N. Surprisingly, during the synthesis of ZnSiN₂, ZnCN₂ was obtained as a side product.     

Hybrid plasma bonding for void-free strong bonded interface of silicon/glass at 200 °C

A novel hybrid plasma bonding (HPB) that combines sequential plasma activation (reactive ion etching followed by microwave radicals) with anodic bonding has been developed to achieve void-free and strong silicon/glass bonding at low temperature. The interfacial voids were observed at the silicon/glass interface both in the anodic bonding and in the plasma activated anodic bonding, but the voids were completely disappeared in the HPB method at 200 °C. The bonding strength of the silicon/glass in the HPB was as high as 30 MPa at 200 °C, which was higher than that in the individual treatment of anodic and plasma activated bonding methods. The improved characteristic behavior of the interface in the HPB is attributed to the higher hydrophilicity and smooth surfaces of silicon and glass after sequential plasma activation. These highly reactive and clean surfaces enhance the mobility of alkaline cations from the glass surface across the interface toward the bulk of glass in the HPB. This transportation resulted in a ∼353 nm thick alkaline depletion layer in the glass and enlarged the amorphous SiO₂ across the interface. The void-free strong bonding is attributed to the clean hydrophilic surfaces and the amorphous SiO₂ layer across the interface.     

Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production in Alkaline Solutions Using Cu2O Coated with Earth‐Abundant Hydrogen Evolution Catalysts

The splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules using sunlight is an attractive method for solar energy storage. Until now, photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution is mostly studied in acidic solutions, in which the hydrogen evolution is more facile than in alkaline solutions. Herein, we report photoelectrochemical hydrogen production in alkaline solutions, which are more favorable than acidic solutions for the complementary oxygen evolution half‐reaction. We show for the first time that amorphous molybdenum sulfide is a highly active hydrogen evolution catalyst in basic medium. The amorphous molybdenum sulfide catalyst and a Ni–Mo catalyst are then deposited on surface‐protected cuprous oxide photocathodes to catalyze sunlight‐driven hydrogen production in 1 M KOH. The photocathodes give photocurrents of ?6.3 mA cm^?2 at the reversible hydrogen evolution potential, the highest yet reported for a metal oxide photocathode using an earth‐abundant hydrogen evolution reaction catalyst.