Crystalline Ammonium Peroxogermanate as a Waste-Free, Fully Recyclable Versatile Precursor for Germanium Compounds

High, nearly 100%, yield synthesis of ammonium peroxogermanate (APG), (NH₄)₆[Ge₆(μ-OO)₆(μ-O)₆(OH)₆]·6H₂O, is presented, and its crystal structure is determined by single crystal X-ray study. It comprises centrosymmetric hexanuclear peroxogermanate anions [Ge₆(μ-OO)₆(μ-O)₆(OH)₆]^6- with six μ-oxo- and six μ-peroxo groups forming negatively charged layers. The space between these layers is filled by ammonium cations and water molecules, forming a highly stable structure due to hydrogen bonding. Highly soluble macroporous amorphous germanium oxide (HSGO) is then synthesized by mild treatment of APG. The compound forms highly oversaturated metastable germanium oxide solution with a solubility of 100 g/L, over 20 times higher than the solubility of amorphous germanium oxide. HSGO solution is a versatile reagent that can react with basic and acidic reagents to give a diverse range of salts including, e.g., germanium sulfide, germanium hydrophosphate, and potassium germanate. In the absence of acid or base, the aqueous HSGO solution yields hexagonal germanium oxide under ambient conditions.

Interactions between Metal Oxides and Biomolecules: from Fundamental Understanding to Applications

Metallo-oxide (MO)-based bioinorganic nanocomposites promise unique structures, physicochemical properties, and novel biochemical functionalities, and within the past decade, investment in research on materials such as ZnO, TiO₂, SiO₂, and GeO₂ has significantly increased. Besides traditional approaches, the synthesis, shaping, structural patterning, and postprocessing chemical functionalization of the materials surface is inspired by strategies which mimic processes in nature. Would such materials deliver new technologies? Answering this question requires the merging of historical knowledge and current research from different fields of science. Practically, we need an effective defragmentation of the research area. From our perspective, the superficial accounting of material properties, chemistry of the surfaces, and the behavior of biomolecules next to such surfaces is a problem. This is particularly of concern when we wish to bridge between technologies in vitro and biotechnologies in vivo. Further, besides the potential practical technological efficiency and advantages such materials might exhibit, we have to consider the wider long-term implications of material stability and toxicity. In this contribution, we present a critical review of recent advances in the chemistry and engineering of MO-based biocomposites, highlighting the role of interactions at the interface and the techniques by which these can be studied. At the end of the article, we outline the challenges which hamper progress in research and extrapolate to developing and promising directions including additive manufacturing and synthetic biology that could benefit from molecular level understanding of interactions occurring between inanimate (abiotic) and living (biotic) materials.

Effect of doping Ge into Y2O3:Ho,Yb on the green-to-red emission ratio and temperature sensing

The Ge-doped Y₂O₃:Ho,Yb phosphor tunes the G/R ratio, and the G/R ratio has a higher absolute temperature sensitivity.