Cationic Vacancies in Anatase (TiO2): Synthesis, Defect Characterization, and Ion-Intercalation Properties

As one of the most studied materials, research on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has flourished over the years owing to technological interest ranging from energy conversion and storage to medical implants and sensors, to name a few. Within this scope, the development of synthesis routes enabling the stabilization of reactive surface structure has been frequently investigated. Among these routes, solution-based synthesis has been utilized to tailor the material's properties spanning its atomic structural arrangement, or morphological aspects. One of the most investigated methods of stabilizing crystals with tailored facets relies on the use of fluoride-based precursors. Fluoride ions not only provide a driving force for the stabilization of metastable/reactive surface structures but also alter the reactivity of titanium molecular precursors and in turn the structural features of the stabilized crystals. Here, we review recent progress in the solution-based synthesis of anatase (one of the polymorphs of TiO₂) employing a fluoride precursor, with an emphasis on how cationic vacancies are stabilized by a charge-compensating mechanism and the resulting structural features associated with these defects. Finally, we will discuss the ion-intercalation properties of these sites with respect to lithium and polyvalent ions such as Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺. We will discuss in more detail the relevant parameters of the synthesis that allow controlling the phase composition with the coexistence of oxide, fluoride, and hydroxide ions within the anatase framework. The mechanism of formation of defective anatase nanocrystals has highlighted a solid-state transformation mostly implying an oxolation reaction (the condensation of hydroxide ions) that results in a decrease in the vacancy content, which can be synthetically controlled. The investigation of local fluorine environments probed by solid-state ¹⁹F NMR revealed up to three coordination modes with different numbers of coordinated Ti⁴⁺ and vacancies. It further revealed the occurrence of single and adjacent pairs of vacancies. These different host sites including native interstitial (and single/paired vacancies) display different ion-intercalation properties. We notably discussed the influence of the local anionic environments of vacancies on the thermodynamics of intercalation properties. The selective intercalation of polyvalent cations such as Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺ further supports the beneficial uses of defect chemistry for developing post-lithium-ion batteries. It is expected that the ability to characterize the local structure of defects is key to the design of unique, tailored-made materials.

High-speed solid state fluorination of Nb2O5 yields NbO2F and Nb3O7F with photocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution from water

Solid state reactions are slow because the diffusion of atoms or ions through the reactant, intermediate and crystalline product phases is the rate-limiting step. This requires days or even weeks of high temperature treatment, and consumption of large amounts of energy. We employed spark-plasma sintering, an engineering technique that is used for high-speed consolidation of powders with a pulsed electric current passing through the sample to carry out the fluorination of niobium oxide in minute intervals. The approach saves time and large amounts of waste energy. Moreover, it allows the preparation of fluorinated niobium oxides on a gram scale using poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (®Teflon) scrap and without toxic chemicals. The synthesis can be upscaled easily to the kg range with appropriate sintering equipment. Finally, NbO2F and Nb3O7F prepared by spark plasma sintering show significant photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) oxygen evolution from water in terms of photocurrent density and incident photon-to-current efficiency (% IPCE), whereas NbO2F and Nb3O7F prepared by conventional high temperature chemistry show little to no PEC response. Our study is a proof of concept for the quick, clean and energy saving production of valuable photocatalysts from plastic waste.

Nano metal fluorides: small particles with great properties

The recently developed fluorolytic sol–gel route to metal fluorides opens a very broad range of both scientific and technical applications of the accessible high surface area metal fluorides, many of which have already been applied or tested. Specific chemical properties such as high Lewis acidity and physical properties such as high surface area, mesoporosity and nanosize as well as the possibility to apply metal fluorides on surfaces via a non-aqueous sol make the fluorolytic synthesis route a very versatile one. The scope of its scientific and technical use and the state of the art are presented.

Fluorolytic Sol-Gel Route and Electrochemical Properties of Polyanionic Transition-Metal Phosphate Fluorides

Fluorine-containing polyanionic compounds have attracted much attention in the last few years as potential positive electrode materials for rechargeable batteries. With their formula A_a M_b X_c O₄ Y_d (A=Li, Na…; M=Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni…; X=P or S, and Y=F, OH, O), they offer a very rich chemistry and their electrochemical properties can be tuned by carefully choosing the different constituting elements. However, synthesis approaches that allow these materials to be obtained at low temperature are almost nonexistent. In this paper, the use of a nonaqueous fluorolytic sol-gel approach is reported to synthesize a tavorite-type LiFePO₄ F material and its electrochemical characterization was performed. The obtained material displays an electrochemical performance that positively compares with the literature with an excellent cycling stability (115 mA h^-1  g^-1 after 100 cycles at C/2 rate). A slight change in the synthesis parameters allowed Li₂ CoPO₄ F to be successfully obtained, demonstrating the versatility of the reported route, which can be adapted to synthesize other fluorine-containing polyanionic compounds, which are of great interest for energy storage applications.

Nb-doped variants of high surface aluminium fluoride: a very strong bi-acidic solid catalyst

Novel aluminium Nb-doped fluoride catalysts were synthesized using an aluminium hydroxide precursor to afford solids where very strong Lewis acid sites coexist with Brønsted acid sites.

Fluorolytic Sol–Gel Synthesis of Nanometal Fluorides: Accessing New Materials for Optical Applications

The potential of fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis for a wide variety of applications in the field of optical materials is reviewed. Based on the fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis of nanometal fluorides, sols of complex fluorometalates have become available that exhibit superior optical properties over known classical binary metal fluorides as, for instance, magnesium fluoride, calcium fluoride, or strontium fluoride, respectively. The synthesis of transparent sols of magnesium fluoroaluminates of the general composition MgxAlFy, and fluoroperovskites, [K1−xNax]MgF3, is reported. Antireflective coatings fabricated from MgF2, CaF2, MgxAlFy, and [K1−xNax]MgF3 sols and their relevant properties are comprehensively described. Especially the heavier alkaline earth metal fluorides and the fluorperovskites crystallizing in a cubic crystal structure are excellent hosts for rare earth (RE) metals. Thus, the second chapter reflects the synthesis approach and the properties of luminescent systems based on RE-doped alkaline earth metal fluorides and [K1−xNax]MgF3 phases.

A Computational Study of AlF3 and ACF Surfaces

By applying first principles density functional theory (DFT) methods, different metal fluorides and their surfaces have been characterized. One of the most investigated metal fluorides is AlF3 in different polymorphs. Its chloride-doped analogon AlClxF3−x (ACF) has recently attracted much attention due to its application in catalysis. After presenting a summary of different first-principle studies on the bulk and surface properties of different main group fluorides, we will revisit the problem of the stability of different α -AlF3 surfaces and extend the investigation to chloride-doped counterparts to simulate the surface properties of amorphous ACF. For each material, we have considered ten different surface cuts with their respective terminations. We found that terminations of ( 01 1 ¯ 0 ) and ( 11 2 ¯ 0 ) yield the most stable surfaces for α -AlF3 and for the chlorine substituted surfaces. A potential equilibrium shape of the crystal for both α -AlF3 and ACF is visualized by a Wulff construction.

Aluminum oxo-fluoride clusters: A first principle investigation of stability, synthetic considerations, and the interaction with water

The introduction of the so called fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis in 2003 gave access to previously inaccessible aluminum oxo-fluorides, thus to nanoscopic materials and, more importantly, novel catalysts. The intermediate cluster structures synthesized and stabilized by Kemnitz and coworkers have mainly been protected by iso-propoxide groups. However, since catalytic reactions take place in a large variety of media, hydrophilic analogs of those clusters would be of interest. In this manuscript, we present a computational analysis for the fluorination reaction, which represents the second part of fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis, and a theoretical study of the synthesized Al₄ F₄ (μ₄ -O)(μ-Oⁱ Pr)₅ [H(Oⁱ Pr)₂ ] nanostructure's conversion to its hydroxylated analog Al₄ F₄ (μ₄ -O)(μ-OH)₅ [H(OH)₂ ] utilizing the nudged elastic band method. Furthermore, the role of the fluorine atoms of the cluster in an aqueous medium is evaluated by studying the incremental addition of water molecules to the cluster with and without fluorine atoms. In addition, NMR shifts of clusters exhibiting different substituents are compared. It has been found that the inclusion of an explicit solvent is necessary to capture the magnetic response of the individual cluster atoms in an aqueous solvent correctly. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Synthesis and Characterization of Perovskite-Type [K1−xNax]MgF3 Mixed Phases via the Fluorolytic Sol-Gel Synthesis

The focus of this article is the synthesis of perovskite-type [K1−xNax]MgF3 mixed phases via the room-temperature fluorolytic sol-gel approach. Different molar ratios of K/Na were examined and analyzed by 19F MAS NMR and X-ray powder diffraction. Starting from pure KMgF3, a systematic substitution of potassium by sodium was evidenced when replacing K by Na. As long as the amount of sodium is less than 80% as compared to potassium, spectra just show [K4−xNaxF] environments in a [K1−xNax]MgF3 mixed phase but separate structures appear when the amount of sodium is further increased. Moreover, colloidal dispersions of nanoscaled KMgF3 particles were obtained, which were used to fabricate coatings on glass slides. Thin films showed antireflective behavior and high transmittance.

Controlled hydroxy-fluorination reaction of anatase to promote Mg2+ mobility in rechargeable magnesium batteries

Fluorination of anatase as an effective way to tune Mg²⁺ intercalation properties.

Sol–gel synthesis of Sr1−xYbxF2+x nanoparticles dispersible in acrylates

A new approach to prepare nanoparticles in SrF₂-YbF₃ systems via the fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis is presented.

Aluminium fluoride – the strongest solid Lewis acid: structure and reactivity

Highly Lewis acidic aluminium fluorides are interesting heterogeneous catalysts for many reactions, especially C–H and C–F bonds can be activated at room temperature.

Generic Biocombinatorial Strategy to Select Tailor-Made Stabilizers for Sol-Gel Nanoparticle Synthesis

A generic route for the selection of nanoparticle stabilizers via biocombinatorial means of phage display peptide screening is presented, providing magnesium fluoride nanoparticle synthesis as example. Selected sequence-specific MgF2 binders are evaluated for their adsorption behavior. Peptide-polymer conjugates derived from the best binding peptide are used for the stabilization of MgF2 sol nanoparticles, yielding fully redispersable dry states and improoving processability significantly.

Optimisation of a sol–gel synthesis route for the preparation of MgF2 particles for a large scale coating process

Preparation of transparent and low viscous MgF₂ sols via sol–gel technique which can be applied for antireflective coatings on glass substrates is described.

Nanoscale metal fluorides: a new class of heterogeneous catalysts

Nanoscale metal fluorides and hydroxide fluorides prepared according the fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis represent a powerful class of bi-acidic heterogeneous catalysts.

Antireflective coatings with adjustable refractive index and porosity synthesized by micelle-templated deposition of MgF2 sol particles

Minimizing efficiency losses caused by unwanted light reflection at the interface between lenses, optical instruments and solar cells with the surrounding medium requires antireflective coatings with adequate refractive index and coating thickness. We describe a new type of antireflective coating material with easily and independently tailorable refractive index and coating thickness based on the deposition of colloidal MgF2 nanoparticles. The material synthesis employs micelles of amphiphilic block copolymers as structure directing agent to introduce controlled mesoporosity into MgF2 film. The coatings thickness can be easily adjusted by the applied coating conditions. The coatings refractive index is determined by the materials porosity, which is controlled by the amount of employed pore template. The refractive index can be precisely tuned between 1.23 and 1.11, i.e., in a range that is not accessible to nonporous inorganic materials. Hence, zero reflectance conditions can be established for a wide range of substrate materials.

A new approach to prepare nanoscopic rare earth metal fluorides: the fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis of ytterbium fluoride

The sol–gel synthesis of nanoscopic ytterbium fluoride is reported. The transparent and stable sols have been characterized by DLS, TEM and XRD. A new Yb^III complex has been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray analysis.

Comparison of acidic site quantification methods for a series of nanoscopic aluminum hydroxide fluorides

Quantitative determination of acidic surface sites is highly important for the characterization of solid acids because the activity of a catalyst is often related to the concentration of these sites.

Inorganic-organic nanocomposites based on sol-gel derived magnesium fluoride

Monodispersed magnesium fluoride nanoparticles are utilized for the first time to prepare transparent inorganic-organic nanocomposite materials with improved mechanical properties. The fluorolytic sol-gel synthesis route has been modified for the preparation of monodispersed magnesium fluoride nanoparticles with a size of 2-3 nm. MgF(2) particles are effectively stabilised against agglomeration by phosphonic acids, which strongly bind to the particles and lead to an increased compatibility of the inorganic particles with the organic polymers. This way, highly transparent nanocomposite materials with up to 20 wt% magnesium fluoride in different acrylates are obtained, featuring high dispersion of MgF(2) particles in the polymer matrix and an increased hardness by the factor of 2. The nature of interaction between phosphonic acids and magnesium fluoride is thoroughly investigated by IR and NMR showing a monodentate coordination of phosphonates to the particle's surface.