B18-Core EXAFS
I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[14239, 18786]
Open Access
Abstract: The cerium(III) hydroxide chloride Ce(OH)2Cl crystallises directly as a polycrystalline powder from a solution of CeCl3·7H2O in poly(ethylene) glycol (Mn = 400) heated at 240 °C and is found to be isostructural with La(OH)2Cl, as determined from high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (P21/m, a = 6.2868(2) Å, b = 3.94950(3) Å, c = 6.8740(3) Å, β = 113.5120(5)°). Replacement of a proportion of the cerium chloride in synthesis by a second lanthanide chloride yields a set of materials Ce1−xLnx(OH)2Cl for Ln = La, Pr, Gd, Tb. For La the maximum value of x is 0.2, with an isotropic expansion of the unit cell, but for the other lanthanides a wider composition range is possible, and the lattice parameters show an isotropic contraction with increasing x. Thermal decomposition of the hydroxide chlorides at 700 °C yields mixed-oxides Ce1−xLnxO2−δ that all have cubic fluorite structures with either expanded (Ln = La, Gd) or contracted (Ln = Pr, Tb) unit cells compared to CeO2. Scanning electron microscopy shows a shape memory effect in crystal morphology upon decomposition, with clusters of anisotropic sub-micron crystallites being seen in the precursor and oxide products. The Pr- and Tb-substituted oxides contain the substituent in a mixture of +3 and +4 oxidation states, as seen by X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy at the lanthanide LIII edges. The mixed oxide materials are examined using temperature programmed reduction in 10%H2 in N2, which reveals redox properties suitable for heterogeneous catalysis, with the Pr-substituted materials showing the greatest reducibility at lower temperature.
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Oct 2020
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I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[18786]
Open Access
Abstract: Zirconium tetramandelate (2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetate) has been used for selective gravimetric analysis of zirconium for over 70 years. Herein its crystal structure is reported from synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and 13C solid-state NMR. The complex is a rare example of isolated zirconium cations, rather than the clusters prevalent in aqueous solutions.
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Aug 2020
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[14239]
Abstract: The rutiles (M,Ru)O2 (M = Mg, Zn, Co, Ni, Cu) are formed directly under hydrothermal conditions at 240 °C from potassium perruthenate and either peroxides of zinc or magnesium, or poorly crystalline oxides of cobalt, nickel or copper. The polycrystalline powders consist of lath-shaped crystallites, tens of nanometres in maximum dimension. Powder neutron diffraction shows that the materials have expanded a axis and contracted c axis compared to the parent RuO2, but there is no evidence of lowering of symmetry to other AO2-type structures, supported by Raman spectroscopy. Rietveld refinement shows no evidence for oxide non-stoichiometry and provides a formula (MxRu1-x)O2 with 0.14 < x < 0.2, depending on the substituent metal. This is supported by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis on the transmission electron microscope, while Ru K-edge XANES spectroscopy shows that upon inclusion of the substituent the average Ru oxidation state is increased to balance charge. Variable temperature magnetic measurements provide evidence for atomic homogeneity of the mixed metal materials, with suppression of the high temperature antiferromagnetism of RuO2 and increased magnetic moment. The new rutiles all show enhanced electrocatalysis compared to reference RuO2 materials for oxygen evolution in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte at 60 °C, with higher specific and mass activity (per Ru) than a low surface area crystalline RuO2, and with less Ru dissolution over 1000 cycles compared to an RuO2 with a similar surface area. Magnesium substitution provides the optimum balance between stability and activity, despite leaching of the Mg2+ into solution, and this was proved in membrane electrode assemblies.
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Jun 2020
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[11646]
Open Access
Abstract: Pyrochlore iridates (Na,Ca)2−xIr2O6·H2O are acid-stable electrocatalysts that are candidates for use in electrolysers and fuel cells. Ir LIII-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy in 1 M H2SO4 at oxygen evolution conditions suggests the involvement of the electrons from the conduction band of the metallic particles, rather than just surface iridium reacting.
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May 2020
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[13841]
Abstract: The oxyhydroxide Ga2.52V2.48O7.33(OH)0.67 is prepared by reaction between Ga metal and Na3VO4 in a 1:1 monoethanolamine:water mixture at 240 °C. Powder neutron diffraction shows the material to be isostructural with the minerals nolanite and akdalaite, with cations occupying tetrahedral and octahedral interstitial sites in a hexagonal close-packed array of oxide/hydroxide (P63mc, a = 5.7906(2) Å, c = 9.2550(5) Å). Rietveld refinement against the data shows that Ga preferentially occupies tetrahedral sites, as well as some octahedral sites, and hence all V is octahedrally coordinated. The oxidation state of vanadium is confirmed as close to V3+ using V K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, consistent with the refined chemical composition. The material is metastable, dehydrating around 300 °C and then decomposing above 500 °C, as shown by thermogravimetric analysis and thermodiffraction. The oxide Ga2.52V2.48O8 produced after dehydration at 300 °C is shown to contain a larger proportion of V4+ than the parent oxyhydroxide, to ensure charge balance, but the essential hexagonal structure is maintained. Variable temperature magnetisation measurements show that although both materials appear to obey the Curie-Weiss Law at high temperatures, at low temperatures the inverse susceptibility curves are non-linear. There is, however, no evidence for strong magnetic exchange and the extracted effective moments are consistent with the presence of more V3+ in the oxyhydroxide compared to the oxide.
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Apr 2020
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[14239]
Open Access
Abstract: A synthesis method for the preparation of mixed manganese–ruthenium oxides is presented along with a detailed characterisation of the solids produced. The use of 1 M aqueous sulfuric acid mediates the redox reaction between KRuO4, KMnO4 and Mn2+ to form ternary oxides. At reaction temperature of 100 °C the products are mixtures of α-MnO2 (hollandite-type) and β-MnO2 (rutile-type), with some evidence of Ru incorporation in each from their expanded unit cell volumes. At reaction temperature of 200 °C solid-solutions β-Mn1−xRuxO2 are formed and materials with x ≤ 0.6 have been studied. The amount of Ru included in the oxide is greater than expected from the ratio of metals used in the synthesis, as determined by elemental analysis, implying that some Mn remains unreacted in solution. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) shows that while the unit cell volume expands in a linear manner, following Vegard's law, the tetragonal lattice parameters, and the a/c ratio, do not follow the extrapolated trends: this anisotropic behaviour is consistent with the different local coordination of the metals in the end members. Powder XRD patterns show increased peak broadening with increasing ruthenium content, which is corroborated by electron microscopy that shows nanocrystalline material. X-ray absorption near-edge spectra show that the average oxidation state of Mn in the solid solutions is reduced below +4 while that of Ru is increased above +4, suggesting some redistribution of charge. Analysis of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure provides complementary local structural information, confirming the formation of a solid solution, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the surface oxidation states of both Ru and Mn are on average lower than +4, suggesting a disordered surface layer may be present in the materials.
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Feb 2020
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I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[13284]
Open Access
Abstract: Yb6(BDC)7(OH)4(H2O)4 contains both bridging hydroxyls and metal-coordinated waters, possessing Brønsted and Lewis acid sites. The material crystallises from water at 200 °C. Using the solid as a heterogenous catalyst, glucose is converted into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, via fructose, with a total selectivity of ∼70% after 24 hours at 140 °C in water alone: the material is recyclable with no loss of crystallinity.
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Sep 2019
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I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[18786]
Abstract: Fumarate is a pharmaceutically acceptable counterion often used to modify the biophysical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) through salt formation. With 2,6-lutidine (2,6-dimethylpyridine), fumaric acid forms the salt 2,6-lutidinium hydrogen fumarate. An NMR crystallography approach was employed to investigate the salt structure and the intermolecular interactions involved in its formation and stability. The crystallographic unit cell was determined by both single crystal XRD (SXRD) and synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) to contract at low temperature with a skew in the β angle. Density functional theory (DFT)-based geometry optimisations were found partially to replicate this. A second room temperature structure was also identified which exhibited a similar skew of the β angle as the low temperature structure. DFT calculation was also employed, alongside 2D 1H double-quantum (DQ) magic angle spinning (MAS) and 14N–1H HMQC MAS NMR spectra, to investigate the hydrogen bonding network involved in the structure. DFT-based gauge-including projector-augmented wave (GIPAW) calculations highlighted both strong N+–H⋯O− and O–H⋯O intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the molecules, as well as several weaker CH⋯O hydrogen bonds. Both PXRD and solid-state MAS NMR, supported by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and solution-state NMR analysis, show formation of fumaric acid within samples over time. This was evidenced by the identification of reflections and peaks associated with crystalline fumaric acid in the PXRD pattern and in 1H MAS and 13C cross polarization (CP) MAS solid-state NMR spectra, respectively.
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May 2019
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B18-Core EXAFS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[13841]
Open Access
Abstract: The synthesis of mixed-metal spinels based on substituted γ-Ga2O3 is reported using metal acetylacetonate precursors in solvothermal reactions with alcohols as solvents at 240 °C. New oxides of Cr, Mn and Fe have been produced, all of which are formed as nanocrystalline powders, as seen by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The first chromium-gallium mixed oxide is thus formed, with composition 0.33Ga1.87Cr0.8O4 ( = vacant site). X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) at the chromium K-edge shows the presence of solely octahedral Cr3+, which in turn implies a mixture of tetrahedral and octahedral Ga3+, and the material is stable on annealing to at least 850 °C. An analogous manganese material with average chemical composition close to MnGa2O4 is shown to contain octahedral Mn2+, along with some Mn3+, but a different inversion factor to materials reported by conventional solid-state synthesis in the literature, which are known to have a significant proportion of tetrahedral Mn2+. In the case of iron, higher amounts of the transition metal can be included to give an Fe:Ga ratio of 1:1. Elemental mapping using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy on the TEM, however, reveals inhomogeneity in the distribution of the two metals. This is consistent with variable temperature 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy that shows the presence of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in more than one phase in the sample. Variable temperature magnetisation and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) indicate the presence of superparamagnetism at room temperature in the iron-gallium oxides.
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Mar 2019
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B18-Core EXAFS
I11-High Resolution Powder Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[14239, 13284]
Abstract: The rhodium(III) hydrogarnets Ca3Rh2(OH)12 and Sr3Rh2(OH)12 crystallize as polycrystalline powders under hydrothermal conditions at 200 °C from RhCl3·3H2O and either Ca(OH)2 or Sr(OH)2 in either 12 M NaOH or KOH. Rietveld refinements against synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data allow the first crystal structures of the two materials to be determined. If BaO2 is used as a reagent and the concentration of hydroxide increased to hydroflux conditions (excess NaOH), then single crystals of a new complex rhodium hydroxide, BaNaRh(OH)6, are formed in a phase-pure sample, with sodium included from the flux. Structure solution from single-crystal XRD data reveals isolated octahedral Rh centers that share hydroxides with 10-coordinate Ba and two independent 8-coordinate Na sites. 23Na magic-angle spinning NMR confirms the presence of the two crystallographically distinct Na sites and also verifies the diamagnetic nature of the sample, expected for Rh(III). The thermal behavior of the hydroxides on heating in air was investigated using X-ray thermodiffractometry, showing different decomposition pathways for each material. Ca3Rh2(OH)12 yields CaRh2O4 and CaO above 650 °C, from which phase-pure CaRh2O4 is isolated by washing with dilute nitric acid, a material previously only reported by high-pressure or high-temperature synthesis. Sr3Rh2(OH)12 decomposes to give a less crystalline material with a powder XRD pattern that is matched to the 2H-layered hexagonal perovskite Sr6Rh5O15, which contains mixed-valent Rh3+/4+, confirmed by Rh K-edge XANES spectroscopy. On heating BaNaRh(OH)6, a complex set of decomposition events takes place via transient phases.
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Aug 2018
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