In Situ X-ray Diffraction Studies on the Reduction of V2 O5 and WO3 by Using Hydrogen.

The reduction of metal oxides with hydrogen is widely used for the production of fine chemicals and metals both on the laboratory and industry scale. In situ methods can help to elucidate reaction pathways and to gain control over such synthesis reactions. In this study, the reduction of WO3 and V2 O5 with hydrogen was investigated by in situ X-ray powder diffraction with regard to intermediates and the influence of heating rates and hydrogen flow rates. Mixtures of V4 O9 , V6 O13 and VO2 in two modifications were identified as intermediates on the way to phase-pure V2 O3 . None of the intermediates occurs in a single phase and therefore cannot be prepared this way. In contrast, the intermediates of the WO3 reduction, H0.23 WO3 and W10 O29 , appear consecutively and can be isolated. For both reactions, the heating and flow rates have little influence on the formation of intermediates.

Formation and Polymorphism of Semiconducting K2SiH6 and Strategy for Metallization.

K2SiH6, crystallizing in the cubic K2PtCl6 structure type (Fm3̅m), features unusual hypervalent SiH62- complexes. Here, the formation of K2SiH6 at high pressures is revisited by in situ synchrotron diffraction experiments, considering KSiH3 as a precursor. At the investigated pressures, 8 and 13 GPa, K2SiH6 adopts the trigonal (NH4)2SiF6 structure type (P3̅m1) upon formation. The trigonal polymorph is stable up to 725 °C at 13 GPa. At room temperature, the transition into an ambient pressure recoverable cubic form occurs below 6.7 GPa. Theory suggests the existence of an additional, hexagonal, variant in the pressure interval 3-5 GPa. According to density functional theory band structure calculations, K2SiH6 is a semiconductor with a band gap around 2 eV. Nonbonding H-dominated states are situated below and Si-H anti-bonding states are located above the Fermi level. Enthalpically feasible and dynamically stable metallic variants of K2SiH6 may be obtained when substituting Si partially by Al or P, thus inducing p- and n-type metallicity, respectively. Yet, electron-phonon coupling appears weak, and calculated superconducting transition temperatures are <1 K.

In Situ X-ray Diffraction Studies on the Production Process of Molybdenum.

During the production of molybdenum, the first reduction step of molybdenum trioxide to molybdenum dioxide is crucial in directing important product properties like particle size and oxygen content. In this study, the influence of heating rate, hydrogen flow, and potassium content on the reduction of MoO3 has been investigated via in situ X-ray powder diffraction. For low heating rates, a molybdenum bronze HxMoO3 could be confirmed as an intermediate, while γ-Mo4O11 can only be observed at high heating rates. Molybdenum formation at temperatures as low as 873 K can be controlled via hydrogen flow. The potassium content of reactants has a direct influence on the amount of Mo4O11 formed during the reaction as well as rates of Mo4O11 and MoO2 formation.

Structure of diopside, enstatite, and magnesium aluminosilicate glasses: A joint approach using neutron and x-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR.

Neutron diffraction with magnesium isotope substitution, high energy x-ray diffraction, and 29Si, 27Al, and 25Mg solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used to measure the structure of glassy diopside (CaMgSi2O6), enstatite (MgSiO3), and four (MgO)x(Al2O3)y(SiO2)1-x-y glasses, with x = 0.375 or 0.25 along the 50 mol. % silica tie-line (1 - x - y = 0.5) or with x = 0.3 or 0.2 along the 60 mol. % silica tie-line (1 - x - y = 0.6). The bound coherent neutron scattering length of the isotope 25Mg was remeasured, and the value of 3.720(12) fm was obtained from a Rietveld refinement of the powder diffraction patterns measured for crystalline 25MgO. The diffraction results for the glasses show a broad asymmetric distribution of Mg-O nearest-neighbors with a coordination number of 4.40(4) and 4.46(4) for the diopside and enstatite glasses, respectively. As magnesia is replaced by alumina along a tie-line with 50 or 60 mol. % silica, the Mg-O coordination number increases with the weighted bond distance as less Mg2+ ions adopt a network-modifying role and more of these ions adopt a predominantly charge-compensating role. 25Mg magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR results could not resolve the different coordination environments of Mg2+ under the employed field strength (14.1 T) and spinning rate (20 kHz). The results emphasize the power of neutron diffraction with isotope substitution to provide unambiguous site-specific information on the coordination environment of magnesium in disordered materials.

From SmOF to SmH0.78OF0.22: H/F Substitution in Oxide Fluorides as a Synthesis Route to Heteroanionic Compounds.

Mixed anionic hydrides of the rare earths are a fascinating class of compounds as potential functional materials, especially in luminescence, as photochromic thin films and for ion conduction. For exploratory studies, the effectiveness of various synthesis methods must be investigated, which is done here for metathesis reactions. The reaction of Sm2O3 with PTFE yields SmOF (P21/c, a = 5.60133(19) Å, b = 5.65567(19) Å, c = 5.6282(2) Å, ß = 90.169(5)°, V = 178.295(11) Å3, and Z = 4) in a new, probably metastable, polymorph of the baddeleyite-type structure. Metathesis reactions of SmOF with LiH, NaH, or CaH2 led to a samarium hydride oxide fluoride, SmHxOF1-x; i.e., incomplete H/F exchange occurs. X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction on a compound with x = 0.78 obtained via NaH reveal hydride, oxide, and fluoride ions to be partially ordered. SmH0.78OF0.22 (Ia3̅, a = 10.947(2) Å, V = 1311.7(4) Å3, Z = 32) crystallizes in an anti-Li3AlN2-type structure with distorted cubic anion coordination for samarium atoms (site symmetry 3̅ and 2) and distorted tetrahedral arrangement of samarium atoms around the anions (site symmetry 1 and 3). It is a fully structurally characterized hydride oxide fluoride and shows a rare crystal chemical feature─the occupation of a crystallographic site by three different anions (0.188 H + 0.667 O + 0.145 F). Interatomic distances between samarium and hydrogen and samarium and the mixed hydrogen/oxygen/fluorine site range from 2.45 to 2.48 Å and 2.29 to 2.42 Å, respectively, and are similar to those in samarium hydride, samarium oxide, and samarium fluoride. Fluoride extraction by reaction with alkali and alkaline earth hydrides has thus proven to be a useful synthesis route to hydride oxides and also hydride oxide halogenides, which might be further exploited in exploratory research on heteroanionic metal hydrides.

HoHO: A Paramagnetic Air-Resistant Ionic Hydride with Ordered Anions.

The substitution of hydrogen for oxygen atoms in metal oxides provides opportunities for influencing the solid-state properties. Such hydride oxides (or oxyhydrides) are potential functional materials and scarce. Here, we present the synthesis and characterization of holmium hydride oxide with the stoichiometric composition HoHO. It was prepared by the reaction of Ho2O3 with either HoH3 or CaH2 as a powder of light-yellow color in sunlight and pink color in artificial light (Alexandrite effect), which is commonly observed for ionic Ho(III) compounds. HoHO crystallizes with an ordered fluorite superstructure (F4̅3m, a = 5.27550(13) Å, half-Heusler LiAlSi type), as evidenced by powder X-ray and neutron powder diffraction on both hydride and deuteride and supported by quantum-mechanical calculations. HoHO is the first representative with considerable ionic bonding for this structure type. The thermal stability and inertness toward air are remarkably high for a hydride because it reacts only above 540 K to form Ho2O3. At 294(1) K and 25(3)% relative humidity, HoHO is stable for at least 3 months. HoHO is paramagnetic with µeff(Ho3+) = 10.41(2) µB without any sign of magnetic ordering down to 2 K.

YHO, an Air-Stable Ionic Hydride.

Metal hydride oxides are an emerging field in solid-state research. While some lanthanide hydride oxides (LnHO) were known, YHO has only been found in thin films so far. Yttrium hydride oxide, YHO, can be synthesized as bulk samples by a reaction of Y2O3 with hydrides (YH3, CaH2), by a reaction of YH3 with CaO, or by a metathesis of YOF with LiH or NaH. X-ray and neutron powder diffraction reveal an anti-LiMgN type structure for YHO (Pnma, a = 7.5367(3) Å, b = 3.7578(2) Å, and c = 5.3249(3) Å) and YDO (Pnma, a = 7.5309(3) Å, b = 3.75349(13) Å, and c = 5.3192(2) Å); in other words, a distorted fluorite type with ordered hydride and oxide anions was observed. Bond lengths (average 2.267 Å (Y-O), 2.352 Å (Y-H), 2.363 Å (Y-D), >2.4 Å (H-H and D-D), >2.6 Å (H-O and D-O), and >2.8 Å (O-O)) and quantum-mechanical calculations on density functional theory level (band gap 2.8 eV) suggest yttrium hydride oxide to be a semiconductor and to have considerable ionic bonding character. Nonetheless, YHO exhibits a surprising stability in air. An in situ X-ray diffraction experiment shows that decomposition of YHO to Y2O3 starts at only above 500 K and is still not complete after 14 h of heating to a final temperature of 1000 K. YHO hydrolyzes in water very slowly. The inertness of YHO in air is very beneficial for its potential use as a functional material.

Determination of element-deuterium bond lengths in Zintl phase deuterides by 2H-NMR.

The Zintl phase deuterides CaSiD4/3, SrSiD5/3, BaSiD2, SrGeD4/3, BaGeD5/3 and BaSnD4/3 were investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to reliably determine element-deuterium bond lengths. These compounds show deuterium bound to the polyanion and deuteride ions in tetrahedral cationic voids. With 2H-NMR experiments we characterised the individual signals of the two distinct crystal sites. Quadrupolar coupling constants (CQ) of the anion-binding site were determined as 58 to 78 kHz (Si compounds), 51 to 61 kHz (Ge compounds) and 38 kHz (Sn compound). These values agree well with the quadrupole couplings derived from DFT using optimized structural models. We further calculated the general element-deuterium distance dependency of CQ using DFT methods that allow an accurate determination of bond lengths via the 2H quadrupole interaction. The thus determined bond lengths are evaluated as d(Si-D) = 1.53-1.59 Å, d(Ge-D) = 1.61-1.65 Å and d(Sn-D) = 1.86 Å. Chemical shifts of the anion-binding site range from 0.3 to 1.3 ppm. The isotropic chemical shifts of the tetrahedral sites are 5.1 ppm (CaSiD4/3), 7.0 to 10.0 ppm (Sr compounds) and 10.7 to 11.6 ppm (Ba compounds).

From the Laves Phase CaRh2 to the Perovskite CaRhH3-in Situ Investigation of Hydrogenation Intermediates CaRh2H x.

The hydrogenation properties of the cubic Laves phase CaRh2 and the formation of the perovskite CaRhH3 were studied by in situ thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry), sorption experiments, and in situ neutron powder diffraction. Three Laves phase hydrides are formed successively at room temperature and hydrogen gas pressures up to 5 MPa. Cubic α-CaRh2H0.05 is a stuffed cubic Laves phase with statistically distributed hydrogen atoms in tetrahedral [Ca2Rh2] voids (ZrCr2H3.08 type, Fd3̅ m, a = 7.5308(12) Å). Orthorhombic ß-CaRh2D3.93(5) (own structure type, Pnma, a = 6.0028(3) Å, b = 5.6065(3) Å, c = 8.1589(5) Å) and γ-CaRh2D3.20(10) (ß-CaRh2H3.9 type, Pnma, a = 5.9601(10) Å, b = 5.4912(2) Å, c = 8.0730(11) Å) are low-symmetry variants thereof with hydrogen occupying distorted tetrahedral [Ca2Rh2] and trigonal bipyramidal [Ca3Rh2] voids. Hydrogen sorption experiments show the hydrogenation to take place already at 0.1 MPa and to yield ß-CaRh2H3.8(2). At 560 K and 5 MPa hydrogen pressure the Laves phase hydride decomposes kinetically controlled to nanocrystalline rhodium and CaRhD2.93(2) (CaTiO3 type, Pm3̅ m, a = 3.6512(2) Å). The hydrogenation of CaRh2 provides a synthesis route to otherwise not accessible perovskite-type CaRhH3.

Magnetic Structure of SmCo5 from 5 K to the Curie Temperature.

The crystal and magnetic structure of SmCo5 is determined by neutron powder diffraction between 5 K and the Curie temperature. In order to overcome the enormous neutron absorption of samarium, a 154Sm isotopically enriched sample was used. The ordered magnetic moments of both crystallographically distinct cobalt atoms are not significantly different over the whole temperature range. They decrease from 2.2 µB at 5 K to about 0.6 µB at 1029 K. Samarium's ordered magnetic moment decreases from 1.0 µB at 5 K, runs through a minimum of 0.2 µB around 650 K, and becomes larger than cobalt's ordered magnetic moment above 950 K. No sign or orientation change of the samarium and cobalt ordered magnetic moments is found between the Curie temperature and 5 K. SmCo5 is thus a ferromagnet and does not switch to a ferrimagnetic state as discussed in the literature.

LiSr2SiO4H, an Air-Stable Hydride as Host for Eu(II) Luminescence.

LiSr2SiO4H is synthesized by solid-state reaction of LiH and α-Sr2SiO4. It crystallizes in space group P21/ m ( a = 658.63(4) pm, b = 542.36(3) pm, c = 695.01(4) pm, ß = 112.5637(9)°) as proven by X-ray and neutron diffraction, is isotypic to LiSr2SiO4F, and exhibits isolated SiO4 tetrahedra. Hydride anions are located in Li2Sr4 octahedra, which share faces to form columns, with H-H distances of 271.18(2) pm. NMR, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, density measurements, elemental analysis, and theoretical calculations confirm these results. Despite its hydridic nature, it is stable in air up to 550 K. When doped with europium, it emits bright yellow-green light with an intensity maximum at 560 nm for LiSr1.98Eu0.02SiO4H. Even after treatment in water for several hours, the solid shows luminescence. The broad emission peak is attributed to the allowed 4f65d → 4f7 transition of divalent europium. LiSr2SiO4H is the first silicate hydride, a class of compounds that might have potential as host for luminescent materials.

In Situ Hydrogenation of the Zintl Phase SrGe.

Hydrides (deuterides) of the CrB-type Zintl phases AeTt (Ae = alkaline earth; Tt = tetrel) show interesting bonding properties with novel polyanions. In SrGeD4/3-x (γ phase), three zigzag chains of Ge atoms are condensed and terminated by covalently bound D atoms. A combination of in situ techniques (thermal analysis and synchrotron and neutron powder diffraction) revealed the existence of two further hydride (deuteride) phases with lower H (D) content (called α and ß phases). Both are structurally related to the parent Zintl phase SrGe and to the ZrNiH structure type containing variable amounts of H (D) in Sr4 tetrahedra. For α-SrGeDy, the highest D content y = 0.29 was found at 575(2) K under 5.0(1) MPa of D2 pressure, and ß-SrGeDy shows a homogeneity range of 0.47 < y < 0.63. Upon decomposition of SrGeD4/3-x (γ-SrGeDy), tetrahedral Sr4 voids stay filled, while the Ge-bound D4 site loses D. When reaching the lower D content limit, SrGeD4/3-x (γ phase) with 0.10 < x < 0.17, decomposes to the ß phase. All three hydrides (deuterides) of SrGe show variable H (D) content.

Hydrogenation Properties of Laves Phases LnMg2 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb).

The hydrogenation properties of Laves phases LnMg2 (Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb) were investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray, synchrotron, and neutron powder diffraction. At 14.0 MPa hydrogen gas pressure and 393 K, PrMg2 and NdMg2 take up hydrogen and form the colorless, ternary hydrides PrMg2H7 (P41212, a = 632.386(6) pm, c = 945.722(11) pm) and NdMg2H7 (P41212, a = 630.354(9) pm, c = 943.018(16) pm). The crystal structures were refined by the Rietveld method from neutron powder diffraction data on the deuterides (PrMg2D7, P41212, a = 630.56(2) pm, c = 943.27(3) pm; NdMg2D7, P41212, a = 628.15(2) pm, c = 940.32(3) pm) and shown to be isotypic to LaMg2D7. The LaMg2D7 type of hydrides decompose at 695 K (La), 684 K (Ce), 684 K (Pr), 672 K (Nd), and 639 K (Sm) to lanthanide hydrides and magnesium. The Laves phase EuMg2 forms a hydride EuMg2Hx of black color. Its crystal structure (P212121, a = 664.887(4) pm, b = 1136.993(7) pm, c = 1069.887(7) pm) is closely related to the hexagonal Laves phase (MgZn2 type) of the hydrogen-free parent intermetallic. GdMg2 and TbMg2 form hydrides GdMg2Hx with orthorhombic unit cells (a = 1282.7(4) pm, b = 572.5(2) pm, c = 881.7(2) pm) and TbMg2Hx (a = 617.8(3) pm, b = 1045.8(8) pm, c = 997.1(5) pm), presumably also with a distorted MgZn2 type of structure. CeMg2H7 and NdMg2H7 are paramagnetic with effective magnetic moments of 2.49(1) µB and 3.62(1) µB, respectively, in good agreement with the calculated magnetic moments of the free trivalent rare-earth cations (µcalc(Ce3+) = 2.54 µB; µcalc(Nd3+) = 3.62 µB).

Hydrides of Alkaline Earth-Tetrel (AeTt) Zintl Phases: Covalent Tt-H Bonds from Silicon to Tin.

Zintl phases form hydrides either by incorporating hydride anions (interstitial hydrides) or by covalent bonding of H to the polyanion (polyanionic hydrides), which yields a variety of different compositions and bonding situations. Hydrides (deuterides) of SrGe, BaSi, and BaSn were prepared by hydrogenation (deuteration) of the CrB-type Zintl phases AeTt and characterized by laboratory X-ray, synchrotron, and neutron diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, and quantum-chemical calculations. SrGeD4/3-x and BaSnD4/3-x show condensed boatlike six-membered rings of Tt atoms, formed by joining three of the zigzag chains contained in the Zintl phase. These new polyanionic motifs are terminated by covalently bound H atoms with d(Ge-D) = 1.521(9) Å and d(Sn-D) = 1.858(8) Å. Additional hydride anions are located in Ae4 tetrahedra; thus, the features of both interstitial hydrides and polyanionic hydrides are represented. BaSiD2-x retains the zigzag Si chain as in the parent Zintl phase, but in the hydride (deuteride), it is terminated by H (D) atoms, thus forming a linear (SiD) chain with d(Si-D) = 1.641(5) Å.

Structural and Electronic Flexibility in Hydrides of Zintl Phases with Tetrel-Hydrogen and Tetrel-Tetrel Bonds.

The hydrogenation of Zintl phases enables the formation of new structural entities with main-group-element-hydrogen bonds in the solid state. The hydrogenation of SrSi, BaSi, and BaGe yields the hydrides SrSiH5/3-x, BaSiH5/3-x and BaGeH5/3-x . The crystal structures show a sixfold superstructure compared to the parent Zintl phase and were solved by a combination of X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction and the aid of DFT calculations. Layers of connected HSr4 (HBa4 ) tetrahedra containing hydride ions alternate with layers of infinite single- and double-chain polyanions, in which hydrogen atoms are covalently bound to silicon and germanium. The idealized formulae AeTtH5/3 (Ae=alkaline earth, Tt=tetrel) can be rationalized with the Zintl-Klemm concept according to (Ae2+ )3 (TtH- )(Tt2 H2- )(H- )3 , where all Tt atoms are three-binding. The non-stoichiometry (SrSiH5/3-x , x=0.17(2); BaGeH5/3-x , x=0.10(3)) can be explained by additional π-bonding of the Tt chains.

Homogeneity of doping with paramagnetic ions by NMR.

In NMR, paramagnetic dopants change the relaxation behavior and the chemical shift of the nuclei in their immediate environment. Based on the concept that the "immediate environment" in a diamagnetic host material can be described as a sphere with radius r0, we developed a function for the fraction of unperturbed nuclei (the fraction of nuclei outside the sphere) which gives a link between the effective radius and the doping concentration. In the case of a homogeneous doping scenario a characteristic dependence is observed in both theory and experiment. We validated the model on a sample series where paramagnetic Eu(II) ions are doped into crystalline SrH2. The fraction of unperturbed nuclei was determined from the (1)H NMR signal and follows the predicted curve for a homogeneous doping scenario where the radius r0 is 17 Å.

Variation of the Eu(II) emission wavelength by substitution of fluoride by hydride in fluorite-type compounds EuH(x)F(2-x) (0.20 ≤ x ≤ 0.67).

Mixed-hydride fluorides EuHxF2-x were prepared by the solid-state reaction of EuF2 and EuH2 under hydrogen gas pressure in an autoclave. Eu(II) luminescence is observed for 0.20 ≤ x ≤ 0.67, while pure EuF2 does not show any emission. The energy of the emission depends strongly on the degree of substitution x. For low hydride contents, yellow emission is observed, whereas higher hydride contents lead to red emission. The red shift is attributed to the nephelauxetic effect of the hydride anion. Remarkably, limited concentration quenching is observed in EuHxF2-x (0.20 ≤ x ≤ 0.67). This observation is explained by suppression of long-range energy migration due to disorder in the local environment of Eu(2+) in the mixed H/F crystals. The strong x dependence of the luminescence maxima proves hydride-fluoride substitution to be a valuable tool to tune the emission wavelength of Eu(II)-containing phosphors.

Electronic structure of ternary rhodium hydrides with lithium and magnesium.

Chemical bonding in and electronic structure of lithium and magnesium rhodium hydrides are studied theoretically using DFT methods. For Li3RhH4 with planar complex RhH4 structural units, Crystal Orbital Hamilton Populations reveal significant Rh−Rh interactions within infinite one-dimensional ∞ 1 [RhH4] stacks in addition to strong rhodium−hydrogen bonding. These metal−metal interactions are considerably weaker in the hypothetical, heavier homologue Na3RhH4. Both compounds are small-band gap semiconductors. The electronic structures of Li3RhH6 and Na3RhH6 with rhodium surrounded octahedrally by hydrogen, on the other hand, are compatible with a classical complex hydride model according to the limiting ionic formula (M+)3[RhH6]3− without any metal−metal interaction between the 18-electron hydridorhodate complexes. In MgRhH, building blocks of the composition (RhH2)4 are formed with strong rhodium−hydrogen and significant rhodium−rhodium bonding (bond lengths of 298 pm within Rh4 squares). These units are linked together to infinite two-dimensional layers ∞ 2 [(RhH2/2)4] via common hydrogen atoms. Li3RhH4 and MgRhH are accordingly examples for border cases of chemical bonding where the classical picture of hydridometalate complexes in complex hydrides is not sufficient to properly describe the chemical bonding situation.

Bright yellow and green Eu(II) luminescence and vibronic fine structures in LiSrH3, LiBaH3 and their corresponding deuterides.

The luminescence of Eu(2+) in hydride and deuteride perovskite hosts LiMH3 and LiMD3 (M = Sr, Ba) is reported. Bright yellow (M = Sr) and green (M = Ba) emission is observed and assigned to 4f(6)5d-4f(7) emission from Eu(2+) in the highly symmetric 12-coordinated M(2+) site (m3[combining macron]m). The long wavelength of the emission is explained by the strong covalence and crystal field splitting in europium's coordination by hydride anions. A well-resolved vibrational structure in the emission and excitation spectra of Eu(2+) in the Sr-compounds allows for an accurate determination of the energy of the lowest 4f(6)5d state and vibrational frequencies, for both the hydride and deuteride. The isotope effect on the energy of the fd states is small (∼70 cm(-1)), as expected. Surprisingly, also the vibrational energies observed in the vibronic progression are similar for the d-f emission spectra in LiSrH3 and LiSrD3. This is explained by strong coupling of the d-f emission with low energy acoustic phonons which, contrary to optical phonons, are not strongly affected by replacing H by D. The present results provide insight into the long wavelength Eu(2+) emission in hydride coordination and the influence of isotope replacement on the luminescence.

Metal-organic framework luminescence in the yellow gap by codoping of the homoleptic imidazolate ∞(3)[Ba(Im)2] with divalent europium.

The rare case of a metal-triggered broad-band yellow emitter among inorganic-organic hybrid materials was achieved by in situ codoping of the novel imidazolate metal-organic framework ∞(3)[Ba(Im)2] with divalent europium. The emission maximum of this dense framework is in the center of the yellow gap of primary light-emitting diode phosphors. Up to 20% Eu2+ can be added to replace Ba2+ as connectivity centers without causing observable phase segregation. High-resolution energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed that incorporation of even 30% Eu2+ is possible on an atomic level, with 2-10% Eu2+ giving the peak quantum efficiency (QE = 0.32). The yellow emission can be triggered by two processes: direct excitation of Eu2+ and an antenna effect of the imidazolate linkers. The emission is fully europium-centered, involving 5d → 4f transitions, and depends on the imidazolate surroundings of the metal ions. The framework can be obtained by a solvent-free in situ approach starting from barium metal, europium metal, and a melt of imidazole in a redox reaction. Better homogeneity for the distribution of the luminescence centers was achieved by utilizing the hydrides BaH2 and EuH2 instead of the metals.