Search

The aluminum-based metal–organic framework (MOF) made from 2-aminoterephthalate is a photocatalyst for oxygen evolution. This MOF can be modified by incorporating Ni2+ cations into the pores through coordination to the amino groups, and the resulting MOF is an efficient photocatalyst for overall water splitting.

A symmetric PBCO/YSZ/PBCO cell (where PBCO refers to PrBaCo2O5.5+δ, and YSZ to yttria stabilized zirconia) was designed and fabricated for the investigation of the catalytic nature and reaction kinetics of CO2 on PBCO surfaces. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was employed to probe the CO2 reaction behavior on the PBCO electrode. The symmetric equivalent circuit cell characterization reveals that the surface resistance of CO2 on PBCO is only 30.2 Ω cm2 and the maximum surface exchange coefficient kchem is 2.0 × 10−4 cm s−1 at 1147 K, suggesting that PBCO can be an excellent candidate for CO2 reduction.

When its surface is modified by using polar organic anions, 4-substituted thiophenolate anions 4-Z-C6H4S− (Z = NO2, COOH, H, CH3, and NH2), the Bi-based semiconductor BiO(HCOO) was found to exhibit a greatly enhanced photocatalytic activity. To establish the generality of this phenomenon, we examined the photocatalytic activities of other Bi-based semiconductors, BiOX (X = Cl, Br, and I), (BiO)2CO3 and Bi2O3, by modifying their surfaces with 4-carboxythiophenolate anions (4CBTs). As observed for BiO(HCOO), it is found that the surface modification with the 4CBT anions enhances the photocatalytic activities of BiOX (X = Cl, Br, and I), (BiO)2CO3 and Bi2O3, and this enhancement originates from a synergetic effect between the polarity of the polar organic anions and the internal electric field of those Bi-based semiconductors. Several factors affecting the photocatalytic activity were probed in some detail, which includes the nature of the facets and the sample sizes modified by using 4CBT anions in BiOCl and (BiO)2CO3, the structures of Bi2O3 phases as well as the electron-withdrawing or electron-donating ability of the 4-substituent Z of 4-Z-C6H4S− in BiOX (X = Cl, Br, and I).

Magnetoelastic coupling in the quantum magnet [Ni(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 has been investigated via vibrational spectroscopy using temperature, magnetic field, and pressure as tuning parameters. While pyrazine is known to be a malleable magnetic superexchange ligand, we find that HF2– is surprisingly sensitive to external stimuli and is actively involved in both the magnetic quantum phase transition and the series of pressure-induced structural distortions. The amplified spin–lattice interactions involving the bifluoride ligand can be understood in terms of the relative importance of the intra- and interplanar magnetic energy scales.

In developing physical theories, analogical reasoning has been found to be very powerful, as attested by a number of important historical examples. An analogy between two apparently different phenomena, once established, allows one to transfer information and bring new concepts from one phenomenon to the other. Here, we discuss an important analogy between two widely different physical problems, namely, the Jahn–Teller distortion in molecular physics and the Rashba spin splitting in condensed matter physics. By exploring their conceptual and mathematical features and by searching for the counterparts between them, we examine the orbital texture in Jahn–Teller systems, as the counterpart of the spin texture of the Rashba physics, and put forward a possible way of experimentally detecting the orbital texture. Finally, we discuss the analogy by comparing the coexistence of linear Rashba + Dresselhaus effects and Jahn–Teller problems for specific symmetries, which allow for nontrivial spin and orbital textures, respectively.

The origin of interband electron pairing responsible for enhancing superconductivity and the factors controlling its strength were examined. We show that the interband electron pairing is a natural consequence of breaking down the Born-Oppenheimer approximation during the electron-phonon interactions. Its strength is determined by the pair-state excitations around the Fermi surfaces that take place to form a superconducting state. Fermi surfaces favorable for the pairing were found and its implications were discussed., 5 pages, 4 figures

The cause for the orbital-ordered structure of orthorhombic Cs

Recently Kawashima has reported that, when wetted with alkanes, several forms of graphite and single-layer graphene exhibit superconductor-like properties above room temperature under ambient pressure [AIP Adv. 2013, 3, 052132; arXiv:1612.05294; arXiv:1801.09376]. Under the assumption that these seemingly unlikely properties arise from the presence of paired electrons brought about by the alkane-wetting, we explored their implications to arrive at a probable mechanism for strong electron-pairing driven by Fermi surface nesting and acoustic phonon. This mechanism explains why alkane-wetting is essential for the graphene systems to become superconductor-like above room temperature and why the Tc of alkane-wetted pitch-based graphite fibers increases almost linearly from 363 to 504 K with increasing the molecular weight of alkane from heptane to hexadecane. It also provides a number of experimentally-verifiable predictions, the confirmation of which will provide a strong support for the superconductivity driven by Fermi surface nesting and acoustic phonon., 9 pages, 4 figures

A magnetic solid with weak spin frustration tends to adopt a noncollinear magnetic structure such as cycloidal structure below a certain temperature and a spin density wave (SDW) slightly above this temperature. The causes for these observa-tions were explored by studying the magnetic structures of BaYFeO4, which undergoes an SDW and a cycloidal phase transi-tion below 48 and 36 K, respectively, in terms of density func-tional theory calculations. We show that an SDW structure aris-es from a superposition of two magnetic states of opposite chi-rality, an SDW state precedes a chiral magnetic state due to the lattice relaxation, and whether an SDW is transversal or longitudinal is governed by the magnetic anisotropy of magnetic ions., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures not including the SI

Rare-earth indium oxides RInO

To enhance the photocatalytic activity of monoclinic BiVO4 for O2 evolution from water, Ce-doped BiVO4 was prepared using the one-pot facile solvothermal method and characterized via XRD, Raman, XPS, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The XPS spectra confirm that Ce component is Ce3+ ions instead of Ce4+ ions. From the structural characterization and the calculations of formation energies it has been stated that the doping of Ce3+ ions takes place at Bi3+ sites without changing the host structure. The as-prepared Ce-doped BiVO4 samples display significantly enhanced photocatalytic O2 evolution activities from water compared to pristine BiVO4. Density of states calculations indicate that Ce3+ ions act as hole traps, thereby delaying the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. The results demonstrate that the substitution of the remaining monoclinic crystal structure may offer an attractive alternative approach for the doping of BiVO4 to enhance the evolution activity of photocat...

The magnetic properties and electric polarization of the organic/inorganic hybrid system (C5H12N)CuBr3 (C5H12N = piperidinium) were examined on the basis of density functional theory calculations. The spin exchanges of (C5H12N)CuBr3 evaluated by energy-mapping analysis show that its uniform Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain behavior is not caused by the CuBr3 chains made up of edge-sharing CuBr5 square pyramids, but by the two-leg spin ladders resulting from interchain interactions. The magnetic anisotropy of the Cu2+ ions in (C5H12N)CuBr3 originates largely from the Br− ligands rather than the Cu2+ ions. The electric polarization of (C5H12N)CuBr3 arises from the absence of inversion symmetry in the crystal structure, and is weakly affected by the magnetic structure.

A nonpolar inorganic layered semiconductor becomes an efficient visible-light photocatalyst when its surface layer becomes polar by chemically attaching electron-withdrawing 4-substituted thiophenolates -S-C6H4Z (Z = NO2, COOH, Cl, Br, H, CH3, NH2) via Bi-S bonds. An in-depth study finds a correlation between the apparent rate constant (kapp) and the Hammett constants σpara of the 4-substituted groups.

For most chemists and physicists, electron spin is merely a means needed to satisfy the Pauli principle in electronic structure description. However, the absolute orientations of spins in coordinate space can be crucial in understanding the magnetic properties of materials with unpaired electrons. At low temperature, the spins of a magnetic solid may undergo long-range magnetic ordering, which allows one to determine the directions and magnitudes of spin moments by neutron diffraction refinements. The preferred spin orientation of a magnetic ion can be predicted on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations including electron correlation and spin-orbit coupling (SOC). However, most chemists and physicists are unaware of how the observed and/or calculated spin orientations are related to the local electronic structures of the magnetic ions. This is true even for most crystallographers who determine the directions and magnitudes of spin moments because, for them, they are merely the parameters needed for the diffraction refinements. The objective of this article is to provide a conceptual framework of thinking about and predicting the preferred spin orientation of a magnetic ion by examining the relationship between the spin orientation and the local electronic structure of the ion. In general, a magnetic ion M (i.e., an ion possessing unpaired spins) in a solid or a molecule is surrounded with main-group ligand atoms L to form an MLn polyhedron, where n is typically 4-6, and the d states of MLn are split because the antibonding interactions of the metal d orbitals with the p orbitals of the surrounding ligands L depend on the symmetries of the orbitals involved.1 The magnetic ion M of MLn has a certain preferred spin direction because its split d states interact among themselves under SOC.2,3 The preferred spin direction can be readily predicted on the basis of perturbation theory in which the SOC is taken as perturbation and the split d states as unperturbed states by inspecting the magnetic quantum numbers of its d orbitals present in the HOMO and LUMO of the MLn polyhedron. This is quite analogous to how chemists predict whether a chemical reaction is symmetry-allowed or symmetry-forbidden in terms of the HOMO-LUMO interactions by simply inspecting the symmetries of the frontier orbitals.4,5 Experimentally, the determination of the preferred spin orientations of magnetic ions requires a sophisticated level of experiments, for example, neutron diffraction measurements for magnetic solids with an ordered spin state at a very low temperature. Theoretically, it requires an elaborate level of electronic structure calculations, namely, DFT calculations including electron correlation and SOC. We show that the outcomes of such intricate experimental measurements and theoretical calculations can be predicted by a simple perturbation theory analysis.

The effect of antisite disorder in the layered sodium iron antimonate Na4FeSbO6 was examined both experimentally and theoretically. The magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements show that Na4FeSbO6 does not undergo a long-range antiferromagnetic order, unlike its structural analog Li4FeSbO6. The electron spin resonance yields the complicated picture of coexistence of two magnetic subsystems corresponding to two different Fe cation positions in the lattice (regular and antisite) and driving the magnetic properties of the Na4FeSbO6. This conclusion found perfect confirmation from both the Mossbauer and X-ray absorption data which show the presence of two kinds of Fe3+ ions being in high-spin Fe3+ (S = 5/2) and low-spin Fe3+ (S = 1/2) states. These findings arise from the antisite disorder between the Fe3+ and Sb5+ ions in the (NaFeSbO6)3− layers of Na4FeSbO6. Our density functional calculations show that the Fe3+ ions located at the Sb5+ sites exist as low-spin Fe3+ ions, and that the spins of each Fe3+ (S = 5/2)–Fe3+ (S = 1/2)–Fe3+ (S = 5/2) trimer generated by the antisite disorder has a ferrimagnetic arrangement Fe3+↑–Fe3+↓–Fe3+↑, which enhances the magnetization of Na4FeSbO6 and leads to an apparently positive Curie–Weiss temperature.

Boron-doped monoclinic and tetragonal phases of BiVO4 were prepared by using the urea precipitation method, and the visible-light photocatalytic activities of pristine and boron-doped BiVO4 for oxygen generation from water were compared. Boron doping enhances the photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 . The reasons for this enhancement were probed by performing X-ray photoelectron, Raman, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements, and also by performing density functional calculations for model boron-doped BiVO4 structures. The photocatalytic activities of BiVO4 is enhanced by boron doping because the resulting BO4 tetrahedra, which are smaller than the VO4 tetrahedra, create an occupied defect level per boron lying approximately 0.17 eV above the valence-band maximum of pristine BiVO4 , and this defect level is localized because it is made up of the O 2 p levels of the BO4 tetrahedron. Thus, the BO4 tetrahedra that result from boron doping act as hole traps, thereby slowing down the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes.

The enhanced catalytic and photocatalytic activities of a RuO2 layer deposited on the TiO2(110) surface were examined by constructing model RuO2/TiO2(110) heterostructures with and without oxygen vacancies and performing density functional calculations. The formation of the heterojunction only weakly affects the atomic structure of the interface due to a pseudomorphic deposition but causes a strong electron density accumulation in the interface as well as a bending of the valence and conduction bands of TiO2. The electron accumulation in the interface creates a strong internal electric field, which helps to effectively separate photogenerated electron–hole pairs during a photocatalytic process. Finally, we report on the catalytic role of oxygen vacancies at the surface.

A layered quaternary uranium-containing oxide, Cs2Mn3U6O22, was crystallized from a cesium chloride flux. The crystal structure was determined to consist of α-U3O8 topological layers that are separated by alternating cesium and manganese layers. This ordered arrangement creates a separation between manganese layers of 13 Å, leading to complex low-dimensional magnetic properties. The compound crystallizes in a new structure type in the monoclinic space group, C2/m, with a = 6.8730(10) Å, b = 11.7717(17) Å, c = 13.374(2) Å, and β = 99.673(5)°. The magnetic properties were measured and analyzed by first-principles density functional theory calculations.

We examined the magnetic properties of layered oxide Li4NiTeO6 by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and ESR measurements and density functional calculations, and characterized phase relations, crystal structure and electrochemical properties of Li4NiTeO6. The magnetization and ESR data indicate the absence of a long-range magnetic order down to 1.8 K, and the magnetic susceptibility data the presence of dominant antiferromagnetic interactions. These observations are well accounted for by density functional calculations, which show that the spin exchanges of the LiNiTeO6 layers in Li4NiTeO6 are strongly spin frustrated. The electrochemical charging of Li4NiTeO6 takes place at constant potential of ca. 4.2 V vs. Li/Li+ indicating two-phase process as confirmed by X-rays. The starting phase is only partially recovered on discharge due to side reactions.

Triphylite-NaFePO4 is a cathode material for Na(+)-ion batteries, whereas its alternative polymorph maricite-NaFePO4 is not. These two different polymorphs exhibit widely different magnetic structures; the ordered magnetic structure of triphylite-NaFePO4 below ∼50 K is described by the propagation vector q1 = (0, 0, 0) with collinear spins, and that of maricite-NaFePO4 below ∼13 K is described by q2 = (1/2, 0, 1/2) with noncollinear spins. We probed the causes for these differences by calculating the spin exchange interactions of the two polymorphs and determining the preferred orientations of their high-spin Fe(2+) (d(6), S = 2) ions on the basis of density functional calculations. Our study shows that maricite-NaFePO4 is not spin-frustrated, which is also the case for triphylite-NaFePO4, that the ordered magnetic structure of triphylite-NaFePO4 is determined mainly by spin exchange, whereas that of maricite-NaFePO4 is determined by both spin exchange and magnetic anisotropy, and that the preferred spin orientations in the two polymorphs can be explained by perturbation theory using spin-orbit coupling as the perturbation.

We explored under what conditions perovskite oxides ABO3 adopt a polar or an antiferrodistortive structure from the viewpoint of the tolerance factor τ and the orbital interactions of the empty orbitals of the A and B cations with the filled orbitals of their surrounding O2– ions. Polar structures require the presence of a substantial size-mismatch as well as strong cation-anion orbital interactions at A or B cation sites. A tetragonal polar structure is preferred when the A cation empty orbitals are extended or when the B-cation empty orbitals are contracted. A trigonal polar structure is favored in opposite cases. An antiferrodistortive structure is found for perovskites with weak size-mismatch or those with substantial size-mismatch if both A and B cations do not generate strong cation-anion orbital interactions. Antiferrodistortive structures result from interactions involving the A cations with the O4 squares of the face-sharing AO8 square-prisms in a two-in-two-out manner, and are found only when the A/O cation-anion interactions are substantial.

The structure of silicene/Ir(111) was examined on the basis of density functional theory. We have found that Ir(111) preserves the 2D character of silicene but significantly distorts its structure from the trigonal one expected for an isolated silicene. The electronic structure of silicene is strongly hybridized with that of Ir(111) so that silicene on Ir(111) loses its linear band dispersion around the Fermi level, giving rise to a metallic band structure; however, silicene/Ir(111) exhibits a hidden linear-dispersive band, which is related to the linear-dispersive conduction band of an isolated silicene.

A simple template-free method of preparing mesoporous TiN nanostructures directly on Ti foils is developed by combining hydrothermal, ion exchange and nitridation reactions. The as-prepared TiN nanosheet arrays on Ti foils can be directly used as an electrode without any subsequent processing, and are found to be a good capacitance material. The specific capacitance of the TiN nanosheets electrode measured at the current density of 0.5 A g−1 reaches 81.63 F g−1, and the capacitance retention is still 75% after 4000 cycles. The symmetric supercapacitor made up of two TiN nanosheet electrodes sandwiching a solid electrolyte (polyvinyl alcohol in KOH) shows a specific capacitance of 0.42 F cm−3, and retains 77.6% of the capacitance even at the current density of 12.5 mA cm−3.

We evaluated the individual atom contributions to the second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficients of LiCs2PO4 (LCPO) by introducing the partial response functionals on the basis of first principles calculations. The SHG response of LCPO is dominated by the metal-cation-centered groups CsO6 and LiO4, not by the nonmetal-cation-centered groups PO4 one expects from the existing models and theories. The SHG coefficients of LCPO are determined mainly by the occupied orbitals O-2p and Cs-5p as well as by the unoccupied orbitals Cs-5d and Li-2p. For the SHG response of a material, the polarizable atomic orbitals of the occupied and the unoccupied states are both important.

To assess the feasibility of the organic–inorganic perovskite iodides ABI3 (A = CH3NH3, NH2CHNH2; B = Sn, Pb; X = I) for thermoelectric applications, we estimated their figures of merit (ZTs) as well as that of Bi2Te3, which is optimized for temperatures around 300 K, as a function of chemical potential on the basis of density functional theory calculations. Our analysis employed the tetragonal structures (P4mm) of (CH3NH3)PbI3 and (CH3NH3)SnI3, the trigonal (P3m1) structure of (NH2CHNH2)PbI3, and the orthorhombic (Amm2) structure of (NH2CHNH2)SnI3 to examine their thermoelectric properties around room temperature. Our work reveals that the ZTs of electron-doped ABI3 perovskites can be as large as that of hole-doped Bi2Te3 whereas those of hole-doped ABI3 are rather smaller so that, in thermoelectric performance, electron-doped perovskites ABI3 can be as good as hole-doped Bi2Te3.

Solution phase post-modification of a trimesic acid (TMA) network on Au(111) with Zn(2+) ions was found to induce transformation of a bar-featured scanning tunneling microscopy image of (5√3 × 5√3) to a chevron-pair image of (10√3 × 10√3). Voltammetric determination of Zn coverage in the modified TMA network supports the fact that the chevron feature consists of three TMA molecules combined via two coordination bonds between Zn(2+) ions and carboxylates of TMA.

We evaluated the individual atom contributions to the second harmonic generation (SHG) coefficients of LiCs

Four new manganese germanates and silicates, A

A facile and efficient photoreduction method is employed to synthesize the composite of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI

We prepared trirutile-type polycrystalline samples of CuTa

While it is known that the amplification of the superconducting critical temperature Tc is possible in a system of multiple electronic components in comparison with a single component system, many different road maps for room temperature superconductivity have been proposed for a variety of multicomponent scenarios. Here we focus on the scenario where the first electronic component is assumed to have a vanishing Fermi velocity corresponding to a case of the intermediate polaronic regime, and the second electronic component is in the weak coupling regime with standard high Fermi velocity using a mean field theory for multiband superconductivity. This roadmap is motivated by compelling experimental evidence for one component in the proximity of a Lifshitz transition in cuprates, diborides and iron based superconductors. By keeping a constant and small exchange interaction between the two electron fluids, we search for the optimum coupling strength in the electronic polaronic component which gives the largest amplification of the superconducting critical temperature in comparison with the case of a single electronic component., 13 pages, 5 figures

The physical properties of doped multifunctional compounds are commonly tuned by controlling the amount of dopants, but this control is limited because all the properties are influenced simultaneously by this single parameter. Here, we present a strategy that enables the fine-tuning of a specific combination of properties by controlling the reduction of dopants. The feasibility of this approach was demonstrated by optimizing the near-IR photoluminescence of strontium titanate SrTiO3 :Ni for potential applications in biomedicine for a range of absorbance in the visible/near-IR region. We discussed how material properties, such as luminescence, conductivity, or photocatalytic properties can be designed by carefully controlling the ratio of dopants in different oxidation states.

We examined the cause for the difference in the magnetic properties of the isostructural/isoelectronic compounds Ba 2 SbFeS 5 and Ba 2 BiFeS 5 by evaluating their spin exchange parameters on the basis of density functional theory calculations. The difference is traced to the exchange triangle made up of three strongly antiferromagnetic spin exchange paths, which exhibits stronger spin frustration for Ba 2 SbFeS 5 than for Ba 2 BiFeS 5 .

We explored how the visible-light energy absorbed by noble-metal nanoparticles (NPs) is converted to electrons and holes in the semiconductor in a visible-light plasmonic photocatalyst by studying the representative system Ag@AgCl on the basis of density functional calculations and classical electrodynamics calculations. These calculations suggest that the energy transfer from the Ag NPs to the semiconductor AgCl requires the presence of midgap defect states in the semiconductor and that the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the Ag NPs strongly enhances the optical transitions of the semiconductor involving the defect states. We verified this suggestion experimentally by preparing Ag@AgCl samples possessing different degrees of bulk and surface defects and subsequently by carrying out photodegradation experiments using these samples.

The new oxofluoride FeSeO3F, which is isostructural with FeTeO3F and GaTeO3F, was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis, and its structure was determined by X-ray diffraction. The magnetic properties of FeSeO3F were characterized by magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements, by evaluating its spin exchanges on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and by performing a quantum Monte Carlo simulation of the magnetic susceptibility. FeSeO3F crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n and has one unique Se(4+) ion and one unique Fe(3+) ion. The building blocks of FeSeO3F are [SeO3] trigonal pyramids and cis-[FeO4F2] distorted octahedra. The cis-[FeO4F2] octahedra are condensed by sharing the O-O and F-F edges alternatingly to form [FeO3F]∞ chains, which are interconnected via the [SeO3] pyramids by corner-sharing. The magnetic susceptibility of FeSeO3F is characterized by a broad maximum at 75(2) K and a long-range antiferromagnetic order below ∼45 K. The latter is observed by magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements. DFT calculations show that the Fe-F-Fe spin exchange is stronger than the Fe-O-Fe exchange, so each [FeO3F]∞ chain is a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain with alternating antiferromagnetic spin exchanges. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility is well-reproduced by a quantum-Monte Carlo simulation.

H2S is converted under ultrahigh pressure (> 110 GPa) to a metallic phase that becomes superconducting with a record Tc of 200 K. It has been proposed that the superconducting phase is body-centered cubic H3S ( Im3m , a = 3.089 ��) resulting from a decomposition reaction 3H2S --> 2H3S + S. The analogy of H2S and H2O leads us to a very different conclusion. The well-known dissociation of water into H3O+ and OH- increases by orders of magnitude under pressure. An equivalent behavior of H2S is anticipated under pressure with the dissociation, 2H2S --> H3S+ + SH- forming a perovskite structure (SH-)(H3S+), which consists of corner-sharing SH6 octahedra with SH- at each A-site (i.e., the center of each S8 cube). Our DFT calculations show that the perovskite (SH-)(H3S+) is thermodynamically more stable than the Im3m structure of H3S, and suggest that the A-site H atoms are most likely fluxional even at Tc., 17 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables The mistakes for the enthalpy and the free energy changes for Eq. 1 (namely, half the energy of H2 was used instead of the full energy of H2) was corrected. Our corrections of this error plus other discussion were given in a corrigendum instead of fixing the text. We added a corrigendum

The pyroxenes LiFeSi2O6 and LiFeGe2O6 are isostructural and isoelectronic, but they differ in their spin order, spin orientation and ferrotoroidal order. The reasons for these differences were probed by density functional theory electronic structure calculations and magnetic dipole–dipole (MDD) interaction energy calculations. The ferromagnetic Fe-zigzag chains of LiFeSi2O6 arise from the antiferromagnetic interchain spin exchanges and the antiferromagnetic Fe-zigzag chains of LiFeGe2O6 from the antiferromagnetic intrachain spin exchange. The preferred spin orientations of LiFeGe2O6 and LiFeSi2O6 are not caused by spin–orbit coupling but by MDD interactions. LiFeSi2O6 undergoes a ferrotoroidal order because it has spin exchange rings made up of an even number of antiferromagnetic spin exchanges paths with comparable strengths. A ferrotoroidal order is not expected for LiFeGe2O6 because it has no such spin exchange rings.

The quest for new oxides with cations containing active lone-pair electrons (E) covers a broad field of targeted specificities owing to asymmetric electronic distribution and their particular band structure. Herein, we show that the novel compound BaCoAs2 O5, with lone-pair As(3+) ions, is built from rare square-planar Co(2+) O4 involved in direct bonding between As(3+) E and Co(2+) dz2 orbitals (Co-As=2.51 Å). By means of DFT and Hückel calculations, we show that this σ-type overlapping is stabilized by a two-orbital three-electron interaction allowed by the high-spin character of the Co(2+) ions. The negligible experimental spin-orbit coupling is expected from the resulting molecular orbital scheme in O3 AsE-CoO4 clusters.

The redox reactions of highly epitaxial LaBaCo2O5+δ (LBCO) thin films exposed to the switching flow of reducing (H2) and oxidizing (O2) gases were examined at various temperatures between 260 and 700 °C. Their electrical resistance was measured using a precise ac bridge measurement system. The as-grown LBCO films have very good electrical conductivity at low and medium temperatures between 400 and 700 °C, and are extremely sensitive to reducing and oxidizing environments with superfast redox dynamics. The LBCO thin films show more complex redox reactions at low temperatures (300–350 °C), suggesting the occurrence of conducting-to-insulating-to-conducting transitions during the redox reactions. In particular, the insulating-to-conducting transition under an oxidation process is superfast, with the largest resistance change of up to 3 × 107 Ω s−1, occurring even at a low temperature of 300 °C. The extremely short response time, the giant resistance change, and the excellent chemical stability in a broad temperature range from 260 to 700 °C suggests that the highly epitaxial LBCO thin-films can be excellent candidates for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells, chemical sensors, and catalyst applications.

Semiconducting SnO2 nanowires deposited with Pd and Sn nanoparticles on their surface are shown to be a highly sensitive hydrogen sensor with fast response time at room temperature. Compared with the SnO2 nanowire deposited with Pd or Sn nanoparticles alone, the Pd/Sn-deposited SnO2 nanowire exhibits a significant improvement in the sensitivity and reversibility of sensing hydrogen gas in the air at room temperature. Our investigation indicates that two factors are responsible for the synergistic effect of Pd/Sn codeposition on SnO2 nanowires. One is that in the presence of Pd the oxidation of Sn nanoparticles on the surface of the SnO2 nanowire is incomplete leading only to suboxides SnOx (1 ≤ x < 2), and the other is that the surface of the Pd/Sn-deposited SnO2 nanowire is almost perfectly hydrophobic.

A new orthorhombic phase, MnCrO4, isostructural with MCrO 4 (M = Mg, Co, Ni, Cu, Cd) was prepared by evaporation of an aqueous solution, (NH4)2Cr2O7 + 2 Mn(NO 3)2, followed by calcination at 400 C. It is characterized by redox titration, Rietveld analysis of the X-ray diffraction pattern, Cr K edge and Mn K edge XANES, ESR, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and resistivity measurements. In contrast to the high-pressure MnCrO4 phase where both cations are octahedral, the new phase contains Cr in a tetrahedral environment suggesting the charge balance Mn2+Cr 6+O4. However, the positions of both X-ray absorption K edges, the bond lengths and the ESR data suggest the occurrence of some mixed-valence character in which the mean oxidation state of Mn is higher than 2 and that of Cr is lower than 6. Both the magnetic susceptibility and the specific heat data indicate an onset of a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic order at TN ≈ 42 K, which was confirmed also by calculating the spin exchange interactions on the basis of first principles density functional calculations. Dynamic magnetic studies (ESR) corroborate this scenario and indicate appreciable short-range correlations at temperatures far above T N. MnCrO4 is a semiconductor with activation energy of 0.27 eV; it loses oxygen on heating above 400 C to form first Cr 2O3 plus Mn3O4 and then Mn 1.5Cr1.5O4 spinel. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

We explored how to improve the thermoelectric properties of the layered transition-metal dichalcogenides 2H-MQ2 (M = Mo, W; Q = S, Se, Te) by comparing the thermoelectric properties of hypothetical mixed-layer systems 2H-MQ2/2H-MQ′2, in which two different layers 2H-MQ2 and 2H-MQ′2 (Q, Q′ = S, Se, Te) alternate, with those of their pure components on the basis of density functional calculations. Our study predicts that the mixed-layer compounds MS2/MTe2 (M = Mo, W) strongly enhance the thermoelectric properties as a consequence of reducing the band gap and the interlayer van der Waals interactions. The layer-mixing is predicted to be a promising way of improving the thermoelectric properties of 2H-MQ2.

Ultrathin Ag2Mo3O10·2H2O nanowires (NWs) were synthesized by soft chemistry under atmospheric pressure from a hybrid organic-inorganic polyoxometalate (CH3NH3)2[Mo7O22] and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, DSC/TGA analyses, FT-IR and FT-Raman spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Their diameters are a few tens of nanometers and hence much thinner than that found for silver molybdates commonly obtained under hydrothermal conditions. The optical properties of Ag2Mo3O10·2H2O NWs before and after UV irradiation were investigated by UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealing, in addition to photoreduction of Mo(6+) to Mo(5+) cations, in situ photogeneration of well-dispersed silver Ag(0) nanoparticles on the surface of the NWs. The resulting Ag@Ag2Mo3O10·2H2O heterostructure was confirmed by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger spectroscopy. Concomitant reduction of Mo(6+) and Ag(+) cations under UV excitation was discussed on the basis of electronic band structure calculations. The Ag@Ag2Mo3O10·2H2O nanocomposite is an efficient visible-light-driven plasmonic photocatalyst for degradation of Rhodamine B dye in aqueous solution.

Samples of inverse spinel Mg2SnO4 were prepared using a ceramic method, their phosphorescence phenomenon was probed by optical measurements, and its cause was explored on the basis of density functional theory calculations for model structures of Mg2SnO4 with oxygen vacancies VO. Mg2SnO4 exhibits long-lasting luminescence at two different wavelength regions, peaking at ∼498 and ∼755 nm. A Sn-VO-Sn defect plus a Mg vacancy VMg away from the VO generates the empty midgap states, σSn-Sn and σSn-Sn*, localized at the Sn-VO-Sn defect, while an oxygen vacancy VO between adjacent Sn4+ and Mg2+ sites creates a filled midgap state Sn2+ (5s2 lone pair) lying below the σSn-Sn level. The long-lasting luminescence at two different wavelength regions and the up-conversion photostimulated luminescence observed for undoped Mg2SnO4 are well explained by considering the σSn-Sn* level as the trapping level for a photogenerated electron.