Crystal and electronic facet analysis of ultrafine Ni2P particles by solid-state NMR nanocrystallography

Structural and morphological control of crystalline nanoparticles is crucial in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and the development of “reaction specific” catalysts. To achieve this, colloidal chemistry methods are combined with ab initio calculations in order to define the reaction parameters, which drive chemical reactions to the desired crystal nucleation and growth path. Key in this procedure is the experimental verification of the predicted crystal facets and their corresponding electronic structure, which in case of nanostructured materials becomes extremely difficult. Here, by employing 31P solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance aided by advanced density functional theory calculations to obtain and assign the Knight shifts, we succeed in determining the crystal and electronic structure of the terminating surfaces of ultrafine Ni2P nanoparticles at atomic scale resolution. Our work highlights the potential of ssNMR nanocrystallography as a unique tool in the emerging field of facet-engineered nanocatalysts.

Crystal and Electronic Facet Analysis of Ultrafine Ni2P Particles by Solid-State NMR Nanocrystallography

Structural and morphological control of crystalline nanoparticles is crucial in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and the development of “reaction specific” catalysts. To achieve this, colloidal chemistry methods are combined with ab initio calculations in order to define the reaction parameters, which drive chemical reactions to the desired crystal nucleation and growth path. Key in this procedure is the experimental verification of the predicted crystal facet and its corresponding electronic structure, which in case of nanostructured materials becomes extremely difficult. Here, by employing ³¹P solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) aided by advanced density functional theory (DFT) calculations to obtain and assign the Knight shifts, we succeeded in determining the crystal and electronic structure of the terminating surfaces of ultrafine Ni₂P nanoparticles at atomic scale resolution. Our work highlights the potential of ssNMR nanocrystallography as a unique tool in the emerging field of facet-engineered nanocatalysts.

Crystal and Electronic Facet Analysis of Ultrafine Ni2P Particles by Solid-State NMR Nanocrystallography

Structural and morphological control of crystalline nanoparticles is crucial in the field of heterogeneous catalysis and the development of “reaction specific” catalysts. To achieve this, colloidal chemistry methods are combined with ab initio calculations in order to define the reaction parameters, which drive chemical reactions to the desired crystal nucleation and growth path. Key in this procedure is the experimental verification of the predicted crystal facet and its corresponding electronic structure, which in case of nanostructured materials becomes extremely difficult. Here, by employing ³¹P solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) aided by advanced density functional theory (DFT) calculations to obtain and assign the Knight shifts, we succeeded in determining the crystal and electronic structure of the terminating surfaces of ultrafine Ni₂P nanoparticles at atomic scale resolution. Our work highlights the potential of ssNMR nanocrystallography as a unique tool in the emerging field of facet-engineered nanocatalysts.

Theoretical investigations of 63Cu2+ orbital Knight shifts for YBa2Cu4O8

The temperature-independent orbital Knight shifts for the orthorhombic [Formula: see text] site in [Formula: see text] (Y124) are investigated by utilizing the high order perturbation formulae of these parameters for a [Formula: see text] ion situated into orthorhombically elongated octahedra. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The moderate quasi-axial anisotropies of the Knight shifts are ascribed to the elongation distortion of the four-fold coordinated Cu[Formula: see text] site. The [Formula: see text] factors are also theoretically calculated in a uniform way for further experimental verification.

Theoretical studies on the Knight shifts for the tetragonal Cu2+ site in HgBa2CuO4+δ

The Knight shifts for the tetragonal [Formula: see text] site in [Formula: see text] are theoretically studied from the high order perturbation formulas of the Knight shifts for a tetragonally elongated octahedral [Formula: see text] cluster. The significant anisotropy of the Knight shifts is attributable to the obvious tetragonal elongation distortion of the [Formula: see text] site. The anisotropic [Formula: see text] factors of this system are uniformly analyzed, and the calculation results and the local structure of the copper site are also discussed.

The Silicides YT2Si2 (T =Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd): A Systematic Study by 89Y Solid-state NMR Spectroscopy

The ThCr2Si2-type silicides YT2Si2 (T =Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd) were synthesized from the elements by arc-melting. They were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, and the structures were refined on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffractometer data. The course of the lattice parameters shows a distinct anomaly for YRu2Si2 which has by far the smallest c/a ratio along with elongated Y- Si distances. Systematic 89Y solid-state NMR spectra show large Knight shifts arising from unpaired conduction electron spin density near the Fermi edge. The Knight shift decreases with increasing valence electron count (VEC), reflecting the sensitivity of this parameter to electronic properties. The particularly strong structural distortion observed in YRu2Si2 manifests itself in a sizeable magnetic shielding anisotropy. Electronic structure calculations for YRu2Si2 and YRh2Si2 reveal similar projected density of states (PDOS) shapes with an energy upshift of the Fermi level in YRh2Si2 due to the extra electron brought in by Rh. As a consequence, the PDOS at the Fermi energy is twice as large in the Ru compound as in the Rh compound. While both compounds show the major bonding interaction within the T2Si2 layers, YRh2Si2 exhibits significantly stronger Y-Si bonding