2D to 3D Reconstruction of Boron-Linked Covalent-Organic Frameworks.

The transformation of two-dimensional (2D) covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) into three-dimensions (3D) is synthetically challenging, and it is typically addressed through interlayer cross-linking of alkene or alkyne bonds. Here, we report the first example of the chemical reconstruction of a 2D COF to a 3D COF with a complete lattice rearrangement facilitated by base-triggered boron hybridization. This chemical reconstruction involves the conversion of trigonal boronate ester linkages to tetrahedral anionic spiroborate linkages. This transformation reticulates the coplanar, closely stacked square cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (PcCo) units into a 3D perpendicular arrangement. As a result, the pore size of COFs expands from 2.45 nm for the initial 2D square lattice (sql) to 3.02 nm in the 3D noninterpenetrated network (nbo). Mechanistic studies reveal a base-catalyzed boronate ester protodeboronation pathway for the formation of the spiroborate structure.

Superionic lithium transport via multiple coordination environments defined by two-anion packing.

Fast cation transport in solids underpins energy storage. Materials design has focused on structures that can define transport pathways with minimal cation coordination change, restricting attention to a small part of chemical space. Motivated by the greater structural diversity of binary intermetallics than that of the metallic elements, we used two anions to build a pathway for three-dimensional superionic lithium ion conductivity that exploits multiple cation coordination environments. Li7Si2S7I is a pure lithium ion conductor created by an ordering of sulphide and iodide that combines elements of hexagonal and cubic close-packing analogously to the structure of NiZr. The resulting diverse network of lithium positions with distinct geometries and anion coordination chemistries affords low barriers to transport, opening a large structural space for high cation conductivity.

Ordered Oxygen Vacancies in the Lithium-Rich Oxide Li4CuSbO5.5, a Triclinic Structure Type Derived from the Cubic Rocksalt Structure.

Li-rich rocksalt oxides are promising candidates as high-energy density cathode materials for next-generation Li-ion batteries because they present extremely diverse structures and compositions. Most reported materials in this family contain as many cations as anions, a characteristic of the ideal cubic closed-packed rocksalt composition. In this work, a new rocksalt-derived structure type is stabilized by selecting divalent Cu and pentavalent Sb cations to favor the formation of oxygen vacancies during synthesis. The structure and composition of the oxygen-deficient Li4CuSbO5.5□0.5 phase is characterized by combining X-ray and neutron diffraction, ICP-OES, XAS, and magnetometry measurements. The ordering of cations and oxygen vacancies is discussed in comparison with the related Li2CuO2□1 and Li5SbO5□1 phases. The electrochemical properties of this material are presented, with only 0.55 Li+ extracted upon oxidation, corresponding to a limited utilization of cationic and/or anionic redox, whereas more than 2 Li+ ions can be reversibly inserted upon reduction to 1 V vs Li+/Li, a large capacity attributed to a conversion reaction and the reduction of Cu2+ to Cu0. Control of the formation of oxygen vacancies in Li-rich rocksalt oxides by selecting appropriate cations and synthesis conditions affords a new route for tuning the electrochemical properties of cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Furthermore, the development of material models of the required level of detail to predict phase diagrams and electrochemical properties, including oxygen release in Li-rich rocksalt oxides, still relies on the accurate prediction of crystal structures. Experimental identification of new accessible structure types stabilized by oxygen vacancies represents a valuable step forward in the development of predictive models.

A Cubic 3D Covalent Organic Framework with nbo Topology.

The synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) covalent organic frameworks (COFs) requires high-connectivity polyhedral building blocks or the controlled alignment of building blocks. Here, we use the latter strategy to assemble square-planar cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (PcCo) units into the nbo topology by using tetrahedral spiroborate (SPB) linkages that were chosen to provide the necessary 90° dihedral angles between neighboring PcCo units. This yields a porous 3D COF, SPB-COF-DBA, with a noninterpenetrated nbo topology. SPB-COF-DBA shows high crystallinity and long-range order, with 11 resolved diffraction peaks in the experimental powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern. This well-ordered crystal lattice can also be imaged by using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). SPB-COF-DBA has cubic pores and exhibits permanent porosity with a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 1726 m2 g-1.

One Site, Two Cations, Three Environments: s2 and s0 Electronic Configurations Generate Pb-Free Relaxor Behavior in a Perovskite Oxide.

The piezoelectric devices widespread in society use noncentrosymmetric Pb-based oxides because of their outstanding functional properties. The highest figures of merit reported are for perovskites based on the parent Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PMN), which is a relaxor: a centrosymmetric material with local symmetry breaking that enables functional properties, which resemble those of a noncentrosymmetric material. We present the Pb-free relaxor (K1/2Bi1/2)(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 (KBMN), where the thermal and (di)electric behavior emerges from the discrete structural roles of the s0 K+ and s2 Bi3+ cations occupying the same A site in the perovskite structure, as revealed by diffraction methods. This opens a distinctive route to Pb-free piezoelectrics based on relaxor parents, which we demonstrate in a solid solution of KBMN with the Pb-free ferroelectric (K1/2Bi1/2)TiO3, where the structure and function evolve together, revealing a morphotropic phase boundary, as seen in PMN-derived systems. The detailed multiple-length-scale understanding of the functional behavior of KBMN suggests that precise chemical manipulation of the more diverse local displacements in the Pb-free relaxor will enhance performance.

A CO2 -Tolerant Perovskite Oxide with High Oxide Ion and Electronic Conductivity.

Mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIECs) that display high oxide ion conductivity (σo ) and electronic conductivity (σe ) constitute an important family of electrocatalysts for a variety of applications including fuel cells and oxygen separation membranes. Often MIECs exhibit sufficient σe but inadequate σo . It has been a long-standing challenge to develop MIECs with both high σo and stability under device operation conditions. For example, the well-known perovskite oxide Ba0.5 Sr0.5 Co0.8 Fe0.2 O3- δ (BSCF) exhibits exceptional σo and electrocatalytic activity. The reactivity of BSCF with CO2 , however, limits its use in practical applications. Here, the perovskite oxide Bi0.15 Sr0.85 Co0.8 Fe0.2 O3- δ (BiSCF) is shown to exhibit not only exceptional bulk transport properties, with a σo among the highest for known MIECs, but also high CO2 tolerance. When used as an oxygen separation membrane, BiSCF displays high oxygen permeability comparable to that of BSCF and much higher stability under CO2 . The combination of high oxide transport properties and CO2 tolerance in a single-phase MIEC gives BiSCF a significant advantage over existing MIECs for practical applications.

Computational Prediction and Experimental Realization of p-Type Carriers in the Wide-Band-Gap Oxide SrZn1- xLi xO2.

It is challenging to achieve p-type doping of zinc oxides (ZnO), which are of interest as transparent conductors in optoelectronics. A ZnO-related ternary compound, SrZnO2, was investigated as a potential host for p-type conductivity. First-principles investigations were used to select from a range of candidate dopants the substitution of Li+ for Zn2+ as a stable, potentially p-type, doping mechanism in SrZnO2. Subsequently, single-phase bulk samples of a new p-type-doped oxide, SrZn1- xLi xO2 (0 < x < 0.06), were prepared. The structural, compositional, and physical properties of both the parent SrZnO2 and SrZn1- xLi xO2 were experimentally verified. The band gap of SrZnO2 was calculated using HSE06 at 3.80 eV and experimentally measured at 4.27 eV, which confirmed the optical transparency of the material. Powder X-ray diffraction and inductively coupled plasma analysis were combined to show that single-phase ceramic samples can be accessed in the compositional range x < 0.06. A positive Seebeck coefficient of 353(4) µV K-1 for SrZn1- xLi xO2, where x = 0.021, confirmed that the compound is a p-type conductor, which is consistent with the pO2 dependence of the electrical conductivity observed in all SrZn1- xLi xO2 samples. The conductivity of SrZn1- xLi xO2 is up to 15 times greater than that of undoped SrZnO2 (for x = 0.028 σ = 2.53 µS cm-1 at 600 °C and 1 atm of O2).

Substitution of Re7+ into CaMnO3: an efficient free electron generation dopant for tuning of thermoelectric properties.

Highly dense CaMn1-xRexO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04) samples were prepared by solid-state synthesis. The effect of Re doping was assessed by the characterisation of crystal structure, oxygen content, and electrical and thermal transport properties. The oxidation state of the substituted Re was determined by X-ray absorption near edge spectra to be Re7+, and led to expansion of the lattice and an increase in electron carrier concentration due to the formation of Mn3+. The thermal behaviour of the electrical conductivity and the thermopower over a wide temperature range allowed identification of different conduction mechanisms: (1) below 110 K, 3D variable range hopping, (2) between 110 and 650 K, small polaron transport, and (3) above 650 K, activation of carriers over a mobility edge. Evaluation of the power factor expected for different dopant oxidation states as a function of dopant concentration shows that the doping strategy using a heavy heptavalent ion allows accessibility of the peak power factor at lower dopant concentrations, lowering the amount of non-ionised impurities, and therefore improves the electronic substitution efficiency, the ratio of activated carriers over the nominal doping concentration, compared to previously studied dopants. An increased power factor and a reduced lattice thermal conductivity are obtained with a peak figure of merit ZT = 0.16(3) at 947 K for CaMn0.98Re0.02O3. This is an approximately two-fold increase compared to undoped CaMnO3, and is comparable to the highest values reported for highly dense B-site doped CaMnO3.

Room Temperature Magnetically Ordered Polar Corundum GaFeO3 Displaying Magnetoelectric Coupling.

The polar corundum structure type offers a route to new room temperature multiferroic materials, as the partial LiNbO3-type cation ordering that breaks inversion symmetry may be combined with long-range magnetic ordering of high spin d5 cations above room temperature in the AFeO3 system. We report the synthesis of a polar corundum GaFeO3 by a high-pressure, high-temperature route and demonstrate that its polarity arises from partial LiNbO3-type cation ordering by complementary use of neutron, X-ray, and electron diffraction methods. In situ neutron diffraction shows that the polar corundum forms directly from AlFeO3-type GaFeO3 under the synthesis conditions. The A3+/Fe3+ cations are shown to be more ordered in polar corundum GaFeO3 than in isostructural ScFeO3. This is explained by DFT calculations which indicate that the extent of ordering is dependent on the configurational entropy available to each system at the very different synthesis temperatures required to form their corundum structures. Polar corundum GaFeO3 exhibits weak ferromagnetism at room temperature that arises from its Fe2O3-like magnetic ordering, which persists to a temperature of 408 K. We demonstrate that the polarity and magnetization are coupled in this system with a measured linear magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of 0.057 ps/m. Such coupling is a prerequisite for potential applications of polar corundum materials in multiferroic/magnetoelectric devices.

Magnetic materials. Tilt engineering of spontaneous polarization and magnetization above 300 K in a bulk layered perovskite.

Crystalline materials that combine electrical polarization and magnetization could be advantageous in applications such as information storage, but these properties are usually considered to have incompatible chemical bonding and electronic requirements. Recent theoretical work on perovskite materials suggested a route for combining both properties. We used crystal chemistry to engineer specific atomic displacements in a layered perovskite, (Ca(y)Sr(1- y))(1.15)Tb(1.85)Fe2O7, that change its symmetry and simultaneously generate electrical polarization and magnetization above room temperature. The two resulting properties are magnetoelectrically coupled as they arise from the same displacements.

Single sublattice endotaxial phase separation driven by charge frustration in a complex oxide.

Complex transition-metal oxides are important functional materials in areas such as energy and information storage. The cubic ABO3 perovskite is an archetypal example of this class, formed by the occupation of small octahedral B-sites within an AO3 network defined by larger A cations. We show that introduction of chemically mismatched octahedral cations into a cubic perovskite oxide parent phase modifies structure and composition beyond the unit cell length scale on the B sublattice alone. This affords an endotaxial nanocomposite of two cubic perovskite phases with distinct properties. These locally B-site cation-ordered and -disordered phases share a single AO3 network and have enhanced stability against the formation of a competing hexagonal structure over the single-phase parent. Synergic integration of the distinct properties of these phases by the coherent interfaces of the composite produces solid oxide fuel cell cathode performance superior to that expected from the component phases in isolation.

A polar corundum oxide displaying weak ferromagnetism at room temperature.

Combining long-range magnetic order with polarity in the same structure is a prerequisite for the design of (magnetoelectric) multiferroic materials. There are now several demonstrated strategies to achieve this goal, but retaining magnetic order above room temperature remains a difficult target. Iron oxides in the +3 oxidation state have high magnetic ordering temperatures due to the size of the coupled moments. Here we prepare and characterize ScFeO(3) (SFO), which under pressure and in strain-stabilized thin films adopts a polar variant of the corundum structure, one of the archetypal binary oxide structures. Polar corundum ScFeO(3) has a weak ferromagnetic ground state below 356 K-this is in contrast to the purely antiferromagnetic ground state adopted by the well-studied ferroelectric BiFeO(3).

Frustration of magnetic and ferroelectric long-range order in Bi(2)Mn(4/3)Ni(2/3)O(6).

The slight incommensurate modulation of the structure of Bi(2)Mn(4/3)Ni(2/3)O(6) is sufficient to suppress the electrical polarization which arises in commensurate treatments of the structure, due to antiferroelectric coupling of local polar units of over 900 A(3). The incommensurate structure is produced by the competition between ferroelectric Bi lone pair-driven A site displacement, chemical order of Mn and Ni on the B site, and both charge and orbital order at these transition metals. The interplay between the frustrated polar Bi displacements and the frustrated spin order at the B site, induced by positional disorder, produces magnetodielectric coupling between the incommensurately modulated lattice and the spin-glass-like ground state with an unusual relationship between the magnetocapacitance and the applied field.

Interstitial oxide ion conductivity in the layered tetrahedral network melilite structure.

High-conductivity oxide ion electrolytes are needed to reduce the operating temperature of solid-oxide fuel cells. Oxide mobility in solids is associated with defects. Although anion vacancies are the charge carriers in most cases, excess (interstitial) oxide anions give high conductivities in isolated polyhedral anion structures such as the apatites. The development of new families of interstitial oxide conductors with less restrictive structural constraints requires an understanding of the mechanisms enabling both incorporation and mobility of the excess oxide. Here, we show how the two-dimensionally connected tetrahedral gallium oxide network in the melilite structure La(1.54)Sr(0.46)Ga(3)O(7.27) stabilizes oxygen interstitials by local relaxation around them, affording an oxide ion conductivity of 0.02-0.1 S cm(-1) over the 600-900 degrees C temperature range. Polyhedral frameworks with central elements exhibiting variable coordination number can have the flexibility needed to accommodate mobile interstitial oxide ions if non-bridging oxides are present to favour cooperative network distortions.

Synthetic control of the pore dimension and surface area in conjugated microporous polymer and copolymer networks.

A series of rigid microporous poly(aryleneethynylene) (PAE) networks was synthesized by Sonogashira-Hagihara coupling chemistry. PAEs with apparent Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface areas of more than 1000 m(2)/g were produced. The materials were found to have very good chemical and thermal stability and retention of microporosity under a variety of conditions. It was shown that physical properties such as micropore size, surface area, and hydrogen uptake could be controlled in a "quantized" fashion by varying the monomer strut length, as for metal-organic and covalent organic frameworks, even though the networks were amorphous in nature. For the first time, it was demonstrated that these properties can also be fine-tuned in a continuous manner via statistical copolymerization of monomer struts with differing lengths. This provides an unprecedented degree of direct synthetic control over micropore properties in an organic network.

Conjugated microporous poly(phenylene butadiynylene)s.

High surface area porous poly(phenylene butadiynylene) networks were obtained (BET surface area up to 842 m(2) g(-1)) by the palladium-catalyzed homocoupling of 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene and 1,4-diethynylbenzene.

A polar oxide with a large magnetization synthesized at ambient pressure.

The perovskite Bi2Mn4/3Ni2/3O6 is polar and combines relative permittivity behavior consistent with ferroelectricity with the magnetic response of a concentrated spin-glass. Bi2Mn4/3Ni2/3O6 is accessible by ambient pressure synthesis despite the instability of the end-members BiMnO3 and BiNiO3 under these conditions.