A comparative study on photocatalytic activities of various transition metal oxides nanoparticles synthesized by wet chemical route

It has been known for a long time that electron irradiation induces damage in maximal valence transition metal oxides such as TiO2, V2O5, and WO3, of which transition metal ions have an empty d-shell. This type of damage is excited by electronic transition and can be explained by the Knoteck-Feibelman mechanism (K-F mechanism). Although the K-F mechanism predicts that no damage should occur in transition metal oxides of which the transition metal ions have a partially filled d-shell, namely submaximal valence transition metal oxides, our recent study on ReO3 shows that submaximal valence transition metal oxides undergo damage during electron irradiation.ReO3 has a nearly cubic structure and contains a single unit in its cell: a = 3.73 Å, and α = 89°34'. TEM specimens were prepared by depositing dry powders onto a holey carbon film supported on a copper grid. Specimens were examined in Hitachi H-9000 and UHV H-9000 electron microscopes both operated at 300 keV accelerating voltage. The electron beam flux was maintained at about 10 A/cm2 during the observation.

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Problems with oxygen analysis in the system MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 with the electron microprobe

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100132753 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 50 (2) ◽

pp. 1624-1625

Author(s):

Michel Fialin ◽

Guy Rémond

Keyword(s):

Transition Metal ◽

Metal Oxides ◽

Transition Metal Oxides ◽

Electrostatic Charge ◽

Carbon Layer ◽

Sample Holder ◽

Rock Matrix ◽

Electrical Discharges ◽

Thin Carbon ◽

Beam Instabilities

Oxygen-bearing minerals are generally strong insulators (e.g. silicates), or if not (e.g. transition metal oxides), they are included within a rock matrix which electrically isolates them from the sample holder contacts. In this respect, a thin carbon layer (150 Å in our laboratory) is evaporated on the sections in order to restore the conductivity. For silicates, overestimated oxygen concentrations are usually noted when transition metal oxides are used as standards. These trends corroborate the results of Bastin and Heijligers on MgO, Al2O3 and SiO2. According to our experiments, these errors are independent of the accelerating voltage used (fig.l).Owing to the low density of preexisting defects within the Al2O3 single-crystal, no significant charge buildup occurs under irradiation at low accelerating voltage (< 10keV). As a consequence, neither beam instabilities, due to electrical discharges within the excited volume, nor losses of energy for beam electrons before striking the sample, due to the presence of the electrostatic charge-induced potential, are noted : measurements from both coated and uncoated samples give comparable results which demonstrates that the carbon coating is not the cause of the observed errors.

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Structures of chemically stabilized ceramics

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100150459 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 51 ◽

pp. 924-925

Author(s):

Pratibha L. Gai ◽

M. A. Saltzberg ◽

L.G. Hanna ◽

S.C. Winchester

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Calcium Nitrate ◽

Nitrate Hexahydrate ◽

Chemical Route ◽

Cubic Form ◽

Tetragonal Form ◽

Wet Chemical ◽

Wet Chemical Route ◽

Final Composition ◽

Aluminium Nitrate Nonahydrate

Silica based ceramics are some of the most fundamental in crystal chemistry. The cristobalite form of silica has two modifications, α (low temperature, tetragonal form) and β (high temperature, cubic form). This paper describes our structural studies of unusual chemically stabilized cristobalite (CSC) material, a room temperature silica-based ceramic containing small amounts of dopants, prepared by a wet chemical route. It displays many of the structural charatcteristics of the high temperature β-cristobalite (∼270°C), but does not undergo phase inversion to α-cristobalite upon cooling. The Structure of α-cristobalite is well established, but that of β is not yet fully understood.Compositions with varying Ca/Al ratio and substitutions in cristobalite were prepared in the series, CaO:Al2O3:SiO2 : 3-x: x : 40, with x= 0-3. For CSC, a clear sol was prepared from Du Pont colloidal silica, Ludox AS-40®, aluminium nitrate nonahydrate, and calcium nitrate hexahydrate in proportions to form a final composition 1:2:40 composition.

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