Stacey J. Smith

Heat capacities and thermodynamic functions of TiO2 anatase and rutile: Analysis of phase stability

Abstract At high temperature, coarse-grained (bulk) rutile is well established as the stable phase of TiO2, and nanophase anatase, thermodynamically stable relative to nanophase rutile, transforms irreversibly to rutile as it coarsens. The lack of experimental heat-capacity data for bulk anatase below 52 K lends uncertainty to its standard entropy and leaves open a slight possibility that anatase may have a thermodynamic stability field at low temperature, as suggested by some theoretical calculations. In the present study, the molar heat capacities of rutile and anatase were measured from 0.5 K to about 380 K. These data were combined with previously measured high-temperature heat capacities, and fits of the resulting data set were used to generate CP°,m, Δ0TSm°, Δ0THm°, and Δ0TGm° values at smoothed temperatures between 0.5 and 1300 K for anatase and 0.5 and 1800 K for rutile. Using these new data and the enthalpy of transformation between anatase and rutile at 298 K, the change in Gibbs free energy for the transition between anatase and rutile from 0 to 1300 K was calculated. These calculations reveal that the transformation from bulk anatase to bulk rutile is thermodynamically favorable at all temperatures between 0 and 1300 K, confirming that bulk anatase does not have a thermodynamic stability field. Implications for the natural occurrence of these two minerals in terrestrial, lunar, and planetary settings are discussed. In particular, anatase requires low-temperature aqueous conditions for its formation and may be a reliable indicator of such conditions in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial settings.

Novel synthesis and structural analysis of ferrihydrite.

Naturally occurring ferrihydrite is both impure and difficult to isolate, so the numerous applications and interesting properties of ferrihydrite have spurred the development of various synthetic techniques. Nearly all techniques are based on the hydrolysis of an iron salt and require careful control of temperature, pH, and concentration. In this Article, we report a new synthetic method which does not require such control and is perhaps the fastest and simplest route to synthesizing ferrhydrite. XRD, TEM, BET, and chemical purity characterizations show that the chemically pure, 2-line ferrihydrite product consists of crystallites 2-6 nm in diameter which aggregate to form mesoporous, high surface area agglomerates that are attractive candidates for the many adsorption applications of ferrihydrite. X-ray PDF data were also collected for the ferrihydrite product and refined against the hexagonal structural model recently proposed by Michel et al. These analyses suggest that ferrihydrite has a consistent, repeatable structure independent of variation in the synthetic method, water content of the sample, or particle size of the crystallites, and this structure can be adequately described by the proposed hexagonal model.

Origin of Fast Catalysis in Allylic Amination Reactions Catalyzed by Pd–Ti Heterobimetallic Complexes

Experiments and density functional calculations were used to quantify the impact of the Pd-Ti interaction in the cationic heterobimetallic Cl2Ti(N(t)BuPPh2)2Pd(η(3)-methallyl) catalyst 1 used for allylic aminations. The catalytic significance of the Pd-Ti interaction was evaluated computationally by examining the catalytic cycle for catalyst 1 with a conformation where the Pd-Ti interaction is intact versus one where the Pd-Ti interaction is severed. Studies were also performed on the relative reactivity of the cationic monometallic (CH2)2(N(t)BuPPh2)2Pd(η(3)-methallyl) catalyst 2 where the Ti from catalyst 1 was replaced by an ethylene group. These computational and experimental studies revealed that the Pd-Ti interaction lowers the activation barrier for turnover-limiting amine reductive addition and accelerates catalysis up to 10(5). The Pd-Ti distance in 1 is the result of the N(t)Bu groups enforcing a boat conformation that brings the two metals into close proximity, especially in the transition state. The turnover frequency of classic Pd π allyl complexes was compared to that of 1 to determine the impact of P-Pd-P coordination angle and ligand electronic properties on catalysis. These experiments identified that cationic (PPh3)2Pd(η(3)-CH2C(CH3)CH2) catalyst 3 performs similarly to 1 for allylic aminations with diethylamine. However, computations and experiment reveal that the apparent similarity in reactivity is due to very fast reaction kinetics. The higher reactivity of 1 versus 3 was confirmed in the reaction of methallyl chloride and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMP). Overall, experiments and calculations demonstrate that the Pd-Ti interaction induces and is responsible for significantly lower barriers and faster catalysis for allylic aminations.

Phase progression of γ-Al2O3 nanoparticles synthesized in a solvent-deficient environment.

Our simple and uniquely cost-effective solvent-deficient synthetic method produces 3-5 nm Al2O3 nanoparticles which show promise as improved industrial catalyst-supports. While catalytic applications are sensitive to the details of the atomic structure, a diffraction analysis of alumina nanoparticles is challenging because of extreme size/microstrain-related peak broadening and the similarity of the diffraction patterns of various transitional Al2O3 phases. Here, we employ a combination of X-ray pair-distribution function (PDF) and Rietveld methods, together with solid-state NMR and thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis-mass spectrometry (TG/DTA-MS), to characterize the alumina phase-progression in our nanoparticles as a function of calcination temperature between 300 and 1200 °C. In the solvent-deficient synthetic environment, a boehmite precursor phase forms which transitions to γ-Al2O3 at an extraordinarily low temperature (below 300 °C), but this γ-Al2O3 is initially riddled with boehmite-like stacking-fault defects that steadily disappear during calcination in the range from 300 to 950 °C. The healing of these defects accounts for many of the most interesting and widely reported properties of the γ-phase.

Allylic aminations with hindered secondary amine nucleophiles catalyzed by heterobimetallic Pd-Ti complexes.

Phosphinoamide-scaffolded heterobimetallic palladium-titanium complexes are highly effective catalysts for allylic aminations of allylic chlorides with hindered secondary amine nucleophiles. Three titanium-containing ligands are shown to assemble active catalysts in situ and enable catalysis at room temperature. A variety of sterically bulky secondary amines are efficiently allylated in high yields with as little as 1 mol % palladium catalyst. Piperidine and pyrrolidine products are also efficiently generated via intramolecular aminations with hindered amine nucleophiles.

Synthesis of Tungsten Imido Alkylidene Complexes that Contain an Electron-Withdrawing Imido Ligand

Tungsten NArR alkylidene complexes have been prepared that contain the electron-withdrawing ArR groups 2,4,6-X3C6H2 (ArX3, X = Cl, Br), 2,6-Cl2-4-CF3C6H2 (ArCl2CF3), and 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3 (Ar(CF3)2). Reported complexes include W(NArR)2Cl2(dme) (dme = 1,2-dimethoxyethane), W(NArR)2(CH2CMe3)2, W(NArR)(CHCMe3)(OTf)2(dme), and W(NArR)(CHCMe3)(ODBMP)2 (DBMP = 4-Me-2,6-(CHPh2)C6H2). The W(NArR)(CHCMe3)(ODBMP)2 complexes were explored as initiators for the polymerization of 2,3-dicarbomethoxynorbornadiene (DCMNBD).

Determination of the magnetic contribution to the heat capacity of cobalt oxide nanoparticles and the thermodynamic properties of the hydration layers

We present low temperature (11 K) inelastic neutron scattering (INS) data on four hydrated nanoparticle systems: 10 nm CoO·0.10H(2)O (1), 16 nm Co(3)O(4)·0.40H(2)O (2), 25 nm Co(3)O(4)·0.30H(2)O (3) and 40 nm Co(3)O(4)·0.026H(2)O (4). The vibrational densities of states were obtained for all samples and from these the isochoric heat capacity and vibrational energy for the hydration layers confined to the surfaces of these nanoparticle systems have been elucidated. The results show that water on the surface of CoO nanoparticles is more tightly bound than water confined to the surface of Co(3)O(4), and this is reflected in the reduced heat capacity and vibrational entropy for water on CoO relative to water on Co(3)O(4) nanoparticles. This supports the trend, seen previously, for water to be more tightly bound in materials with higher surface energies. The INS spectra for the antiferromagnetic Co(3)O(4) particles (2-4) also show sharp and intense magnetic excitation peaks at 5 meV, and from this the magnetic contribution to the heat capacity of Co(3)O(4) nanoparticles has been calculated; this represents the first example of use of INS data for determining the magnetic contribution to the heat capacity of any magnetic nanoparticle system.

One-pot solvothermal synthesis of a well-ordered layered sodium aluminoalcoholate complex: a useful precursor for the preparation of porous Al2O3 particles

One-pot solvothermal synthesis of a robust tetranuclear sodium hexakis(glycolato)tris(methanolato)aluminate complex Na3[Al4(OCH3)3(OCH2CH2O)6] via a modified yet rigorous base-catalyzed transesterification mechanism is presented here. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) studies indicate that this unique Al complex contains three penta-coordinate Al3+ ions, each bound to two bidentate ethylene glycolate chelators and one monodentate methanolate ligand. The remaining fourth Al3+ ion is octahedrally coordinated to one oxygen atom from each of the six surrounding glycolate chelators, effectively stitching the three penta-coordinate Al moieties together into a novel tetranuclear Al complex. This aluminate complex is periodically self-assembled into well-ordered layers normal to the [110] axis with the intra-/inter-layer bindings involving extensive ionic bonds from the three charge-counterbalancing Na+ cations rather than the more typical hydrogen bonding interactions as a result of the fewer free hydroxyl groups present in its structure. It can also serve as a valuable precursor toward the facile synthesis of high-surface-area alumina powders using a very efficient rapid pyrolysis technique.

Designed Single-Step Synthesis, Structure, and Derivative Textural Properties of Well-Ordered Layered Penta-coordinate Silicon Alcoholate Complexes

The controllable synthesis of well-ordered layered materials with specific nanoarchitecture poses a grand challenge in materials chemistry. Here the solvothermal synthesis of two structurally analogous 5-coordinate organosilicate complexes through a novel transesterification mechanism is reported. Since the polycrystalline nature of the intrinsic hypervalent Si complex thwarts the endeavor in determining its structure, a novel strategy concerning the elegant addition of a small fraction of B species as an effective crystal growth mediator and a sacrificial agent is proposed to directly prepare diffraction-quality single crystals without disrupting the intrinsic elemental type. In the determined crystal structure, two monomeric primary building units (PBUs) self-assemble into a dimeric asymmetric secondary BU via strong Na(+)-O(2-) ionic bonds. The designed one-pot synthesis is straightforward, robust, and efficient, leading to a well-ordered (10ī)-parallel layered Si complex with its principal interlayers intercalated with extensive van der Waals gaps in spite of the presence of substantial Na(+) counter-ions as a result of unique atomic arrangement in its structure. However, upon fast pyrolysis, followed by acid leaching, both complexes are converted into two SiO2 composites bearing BET surface areas of 163.3 and 254.7 m(2)  g(-1) for the pyrolyzed intrinsic and B-assisted Si complexes, respectively. The transesterification methodology merely involving alcoholysis but without any hydrolysis side reaction is designed to have generalized applicability for use in synthesizing new layered metal-organic compounds with tailored PBUs and corresponding metal oxide particles with hierarchical porosity.

Synthesis and Thermodynamics of Porous Metal Oxide Nanomaterials

Porous metal oxide nanoparticles is a new class of material of great scientific and technological importance with a wide range of applications. In this article, we briefly review the synthetic methods and thermodynamic properties of such materials. We compare and summarize common synthetic routes of such materials including solid-state, solution- phase (co-precipitation, sol-gel, microemulsion, solvothermal/hydrothermal, non-aqueous), and vapor-phase methods. As for the thermodynamics of porous metal oxide nanoparticles, we review experimental determinations, mainly by calorime- try, on surface and interfaces energetics. The interplay among particle size, surface area, morphology, surface stabilizer, phase stability, and redox potentials is discussed.