Synthesis of heterovalently substituted slab perovskites Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 (BIV= Sn, Ti, BIII= Sc, In)

The possibility of the heterovalent substitution of A- and B-positions atoms in a single-layer slab perovskite-like structure of strontium titanate and stannate Sr2BIVO4 (BIV= Ti, Sn) by type Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 (Ln == La – Tb, BIV= Ti, Sn, BIII= Sc, In) has been established by X-ray powder diffraction methods. The bounda-ries of the heterovalent substitution of A- and B-positions atoms and the crystallographic parameters of the synthesized Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 phases with a single-layer structure are determined. The continuous phase area formation with a single-layer structure has been observed in 10 systems: Sr2–xLnxTi1–xScxO4 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu), Sr2–xLnxTi1–xInxO4 (Ln = La, Pr), Sr2–xLaxSn1–xScxO4, Sr2–xLnxSn1–xInxO4 (Ln = La, Pr). In-creasing the degree of heterovalent substitution of atoms in these systems leads to a reduction of the sym metry of the crystal lattice of phases from the tetragonal (space group I4/mmm) to the interconnected rhombic one. In the rest of the studied Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 systems, the existence of a narrow (x value significantly less than 1) phase region with a single-layer structure based on Sr3BIVO7 is observed. The character of the phase relations in the Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 systems (Ln = La – Tb, BIII= Sc, In) (BIV= Sn, Ti) and the linear type of concentra-tion dependences of the parameters of the reduced tetragonal unit cells of Sr2–xLnxBIV1–xBxIIIO4 phases with a single-layer structure indicate that, by their nature, these phases are series of solid solutions in the pseudobinary systems Sr2BIVO4 – SrLnBIIIO4 (BIV= Ti, Sn, BIII = Sc, In). The obtained data can be used to regulate the functional properties of titanates and stannates Sr2BIVO4 and materials based on them, as well as to solve the problem of a purposeful search for new compounds of the type An+1BnO3n+1 with a slab perovskite-like structure.

Structural investigation of GeSb6Te10 and GeBi6Te10 intermetallic compounds in the chalcogenide homologous series

The crystal structures of GeSb6Te10 and GeBi6Te10 were scrutinized using an X-ray powder diffraction method, which revealed that these compounds crystallize in trigonally distorted cubic close-packed structures with a 51-layer period (R\bar 3m). Each layer consists of a triangular atomic net; Te atoms occupy their own specific layers, whereas Ge, Sb and Bi atoms are located in the other layers. In these pseudobinary compounds, random atomic occupations of Ge and Sb/Bi are observed and the layers form two kinds of elemental structural blocks by their successive stacking along the c axis. These compounds can be presumed to be isostructural. It is known that the chemical formula of the chalcogenide compounds with the homologous structures found in these pseudobinary systems can be written as (GeTe) n (Sb2Te3) m or (GeTe) n (Bi2Te3) m (n, m: integer); the GeSb6Te10 and GeBi6Te10 investigated in this study, which correspond to the case in which n = 1 and m = 3, naturally have 3 × l = 51-layer structures according to a formation rule l = 2n + 5m commonly found in the compounds of these chalcogenide systems (l represents the number of layers in the basic structural unit). Calculations based on the density functional theory revealed that these materials are compound semiconductors with very narrow band gaps.

The Effect of Al2O3 and Li2O on the Anatase to Rutile Phase Transformation

The utilization of Al2O3 and Li2O as dopants that promote the anatase-to-rutile (A-R) phase transition in TiO2 nanoparticles during calcinations is studied. X-Ray Diffraction and SEM techniques were employed for the evaluation of phase transformation and particle size coarsening in pure TiO2, TiO2-Al2O3 and TiO2-Li2O mixtures. For the Li-Ti-O pseudobinary systems some complex oxides may be formed during phase transformation that occurs at significantly lower temperatures compared to pure TiO2 or TiO2-Al2O3 mixtures. Al2O3 doping in TiO2 only increases the anatase-to-rutile transition rate once the phase transformation has been initiated.