Cubic ice Ic without stacking defects obtained from ice XVII.

Amongst the more than 18 different forms of water ice, only the common hexagonal phase and the cubic phase are present in nature on Earth. Nonetheless, it is now widely recognized that all samples of 'cubic ice' discovered so far do not have a fully cubic crystal structure but instead are stacking-disordered forms of ice I (namely, ice Isd), which contain both hexagonal and cubic stacking sequences of hydrogen-bonded water molecules. Here, we describe a method to obtain large quantities of cubic ice Ic with high structural purity. Cubic ice Ic is formed by heating a powder of D2O ice XVII obtained from annealing of pristine C0 hydrate samples under dynamic vacuum. Neutron diffraction experiments performed on two different instruments and Raman spectroscopy measurements confirm the structural purity of the cubic ice, Ic. These findings contribute to a better understanding of ice I polymorphism and the existence of the two natural ice forms.

In Situ Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Studies of Hydrogen-Desorption Properties of 2LiBH4-Mg2FeH6 Composite.

Adding a secondary complex metal hydride can either kinetically or thermodynamically facilitate dehydrogenation reactions. Adding Mg2FeH6 to LiBH4 is energetically favoured, since FeB and MgB2 are formed as stable intermediate compounds during dehydrogenation reactions. Such "hydride destabilisation" enhances H2-release thermodynamics from H2-storage materials. Samples of the LiBH4 and Mg2FeH6 with a 2:1 molar ratio were mixed and decomposed under three different conditions (dynamic decomposition under vacuum, dynamic decomposition under a hydrogen atmosphere, and isothermal decomposition). In situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction results revealed the influence of decomposition conditions on the selected reaction path. Dynamic decomposition of Mg2FeH6-LiBH4 under vacuum, or isothermal decomposition at low temperatures, was found to induce pure decomposition of LiBH4, whilst mixed decomposition of LiBH4 + Mg and formation of MgB2 were achieved via high-temperature isothermal dehydrogenation.

Ne- and O2-filled ice XVII: a neutron diffraction study.

Deuterated ice XVII, a metastable solid water polymorph, was filled with Ne and O2 at p ≈ 100 kPa and studied by in situ neutron diffraction (ILL, France). Powder patterns were collected in the ranges of 20-50 K (Ne) and 4.6-90 K (O2). Rietveld refinement and difference Fourier techniques showed that the gas molecules were located inside the hexagonal channels of the host ice. Both Ne atoms and O2 molecules are arranged in a spiral-like configuration off the channel axis, preserving the P6122 symmetry of the host in the case of Ne, but reducing it to P61 in O2. A larger Ne absorption compared to Ne-filled ice II is observed, which is consistent with longer host-guest contacts producing smaller hydrophobic repulsion. In O2-filled ice XVII, instead, short O-D distances (2.37 Å) have attractive character and stabilize the structure.

On the lithiation reaction of niobium oxide: structural and electronic properties of Li(1.714)Nb2O5.

Monoclinic α-Nb2O5 was chemically lithiated by reaction with n-butyllithium, mimicking the product of electrochemical discharge of a niobium oxide cathode vs. a Li anode. The compound was investigated by neutron powder diffraction (D2B equipment at ILL, France) and its structure was Rietveld refined in space group P2 to wRp = 0.045, locating the Li atoms inserted in the α-Nb2O5 framework. The ensuing chemical formula is Li12/7Nb2O5. Some Li atoms are more strongly bonded (five coordinated O atoms), some are less strongly bonded (coordination number = 4). Starting from the experimental structure, first-principles periodic DFT calculations based on the hybrid B3LYP functional were performed. The electrochemical voltage of Li insertion was computed to be 1.67 V, fully consistent with the experimental 1.60 V plateau vs. capacity. The analysis of the electron band structure shows that lithiation changes the insulating oxide into a semi-metal; some of the extra electrons inserted with lithium become spin-polarized and give the material weak ferromagnetic properties.

Lithium diffusion pathways and vacancy formation in the Pmmn-Li(1-x)FeO2 electrode material.

Models for Li(+) ion mobility were developed and investigated in the 'corrugated layer' orthorhombic phase of Li(1-x)FeO(2), an attractive possible electrode material for reversible lithium ion batteries. The ground-state crystal energy was computed by first-principles DFT (Density-Functional-Theory) methods, based on the use of the hybrid B3LYP functional with localized Gaussian-type basis sets. Appropriate supercells were devised as needed, with full least-energy structure optimization. In the defect-free case (x = 0), ion diffusion was found to take place cooperatively inside a fraction of active lithium layers separated by inert ones, so as to reduce lattice strain; intermediate bottleneck states of Li are either in tetrahedral (energy barrier ΔE(a) = 0.410 eV) or linear (ΔE(a) = 0.468 eV) coordination. For the Li(0.75)FeO(2) deintercalated material a number of low energy vacancy configurations were considered, investigating also the vacancy influence on electron density of states and atomic charge distribution. The most favourable ion transport mechanisms (ΔE(a) = 0.292 and 0.304 eV) imply a linear Li bottleneck state, with all lithium layers active and a quite small lattice strain. Accordingly, in the defective material the predicted ionic conductivity at room temperature rises from 10(-5)-10(-6) (LiFeO(2)) to 4 × 10(-4) ohm(-1) cm(-1) (Li(0.75)FeO(2)).

Weak forces at work in dye-loaded zeolite materials: spectroscopic investigation on cation-sulfur interactions.

The interaction between sulfur-containing chromophores and cationic species (K(+)) has been investigated in dye-loaded zeolite materials by means of photoluminescence spectroscopy. A red-shift in the emission spectra of the host-guest compounds (HGCs) has been detected and unambiguously connected to the close proximity between a conjugated moiety and nearby free charges, suggesting a specific role played by sulfur lone pair electrons. Quantum-chemical calculations on model compounds have been performed to support this hypothesis.

Phase equilibria and transition mechanisms in high-pressure AgCl by ab initio methods.

The theoretical study of pressure-driven phase transformations by means of ab initio quantum mechanical methods, in the frame of the extended Landau approach, is considered. A specific application to AgCl is presented: the system shows, on increasing pressure, four polymorphs with rock salt- (Fmm), KOH- (P2(1)/m), TlI- (Cmcm), and CsCl- (Pmm) type structures. The method of constant-pressure enthalpy minimization was used for all phases, by fully relaxing the corresponding crystal structures. Periodic ab initio energy calculations were performed by the CRYSTAL03 code, employing a DFT-GGA-PBE functional with a localized basis set of Gaussian-type functions. The three phase transitions were predicted to occur at 3.5, 6.0, and 17.7 GPa, respectively, against pressures of 6.6, 10.8, and 17 GPa from literature experimental results. The rock salt- to KOH-type and KOH- to TlI-type displacive transformations show a weak first-order character. The TlI- to CsCl-type reconstructive transition is sharply first-order, and its kinetic mechanism was studied in detail on the basis of a P2(1)/m pathway, similar to that previously found for the rock salt- to CsCl-type transformation of NaCl. An activation enthalpy of 0.011 eV was found at the equilibrium pressure of 17.7 GPa.