Threefold coordinated germanium in a GeO2 melt.

The local structure around germanium is a fundamental issue in material science and geochemistry. In the prevailing viewpoint, germanium in GeO2 melt is coordinated by at least four oxygen atoms. However, the viewpoint has been debated for decades due to several unexplained bands present in the GeO2 melt Raman spectra. Using in situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) computation, we have found a [GeOØ2]n (Ø = bridging oxygen) chain structure in a GeO2 melt. In this structure, the germanium atom is coordinated by three oxygen atoms and interacts weakly with two neighbouring non-bridging oxygen atoms. The bonding nature of the chain has been analyzed on the basis of the computational electronic structure. The results may settle down the longstanding debate on the GeO2 melt structure and modify our view on germanate chemistry.

Quantitative Studies on Local Structure of Molten Binary Potassium Germanates.

In situ high temperature Raman spectra of xK2O-(100-x)GeO2, samples containing 0, 5, 11.11, 20, 25, 33.3, 40, and 50 %mol K2O, were measured. The structure units and a series of model clusters have been designed, optimized, and calculated by quantum chemistry ab initio calculations. The computational simulation in conjunction with the experiments put forward a novel method to correct the experimental Raman spectra of the melts. Deconvolution of the stretching vibrational bands of nonbridging oxygen of [GeO4] tetrahedra of Raman spectra by Gaussian functions was carried out, and the quantitative distribution of different Qn species in molten binary potassium germanates was obtained. The result on all molten samples show that four-fold coordinated germanium atoms occupy a dominant position in the melt and only four-fold coordinated exists in the melt when the K2O content exceeds a certain amount. For melts with high GeO2 content, with the increasing K2O content, the structure of [GeO4] tetrahedra gradually changes from a three-dimensional network consisting of both six-membered and three-membered rings to a three-dimensional network that presents all three-membered rings.

BaGeO3: A Mid-IR Transparent Crystal with Superstrong Raman Response.

Stimulated Raman scattering processes based on Raman crystals offer a simple and effective method to generate mid-IR lasers. However, currently available mid-IR Raman crystals are extremely scarce. Herein, a new type of mid-IR Raman crystal, BaGeO3, is reported. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with Ba2+ cations and [Ge3O9]6- rings as basic building units and features high transparency from 2.5 to 5.5 µm and a Raman response larger than that of diamond. The BaGeO3 crystal has 45 IR-active modes (22Au + 23Bu) and 42 Raman-active modes (20Ag + 22Bg). The wide mid-IR transparent window is attributed to the low phonon energy of the second-order IR-active Au ⊗ Bg mode. The strongest Raman band, located at 799 cm-1, arises from the symmetrically stretching vibration of the [Ge3O9]6- extra-ring Ge-O bonds. The findings provide new insights into the crystallographic and Raman spectroscopic characteristics of high-performance mid-IR Raman crystals.

In Situ Raman Spectroscopy and DFT Studies of the Li2GeO3 Melt Structure.

Knowledge of the molecular-level structure of the Li2GeO3 melt is essential to understand its basic physicochemical properties. In this work, in situ Raman spectroscopy, factor group analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied to investigate the Li2GeO3 crystal Raman spectrum and its transformation during the crystal melting process. Finally, the Li2GeO3 melt structure was determined. The Li2GeO3 lattice phonons were fully analyzed by the factor group. The DFT calculations confirmed the analysis results and assigned all of the experimental Raman bands. There are two characteristic Raman bands in the experimental spectrum. The 495 cm-1 band (mid-frequency band) is attributed to the symmetric bending vibration of the Ge-O-Ge bond, and the 814 cm-1 band (high-frequency band) arises from the symmetric stretching vibration of the O-Ge-O bond. The mid-frequency band anomalously shifted to a higher frequency and the high-frequency band normally shifted to a lower frequency when the crystal melted. The DFT method was employed to investigate two possible Li2GeO3 melt structures, one consisting of the [GeO2Ø2] n (Ø = bridging oxygen) chain and the other consisting of the [Ge3O9] ring. The chain-type structure was demonstrated to provide a better description of the Li2GeO3 melt than the ring-type structure. The anomalous shift of the mid-frequency band is related to the shrinkage of the [GeO2Ø2] n chain. On the basis of the chain-type structure, the high viscosity of the Li2GeO3 melt and the growth phenomena of the Li2GeO3 crystal were explained.

Temperature Dependent Micro-Structure of KAlF4 from Solid to Molten States.

In situ high temperature X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the temperature dependent micro-structure of KAlF4. Density functional theory was applied to simulate the structure of crystalline KAlF4 while a quantum chemistry ab initio simulation was performed to explore the structure of molten KAlF4. Two crystal polymorphs demonstrated to be present in solid KAlF4. At the temperature below 673 K, it belongs to the tetragonal crystal system within the P4/mbm space group, while the high temperature phase is attributed to the monoclinic crystal system within the P21/m space group. Both polymorph KAlF4 phases are characterized by a layered structure consisting of K⁺ and [AlF6]3- octahedra, each of the [AlF6]3- octahedra equivalently shares four corners with other four [AlF6]3- octahedra along the layer. The layered structure became unstable at higher temperatures and crashed when the temperature exceeded the melting point. It demonstrated that the molten KAlF4 consisted of predominant [AlF4]- and a small amount of [AlF6]3-. The Raman spectrum of molten KAlF4 simulated by using a quantum chemistry ab initio method agreed well with the experimental Raman spectrum.

Quantitative Studies on the Structure of Molten Binary Potassium Molybdates by in Situ Raman Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemistry ab Initio Calculations.

The quantitative distribution of different species ( Q ijklm and H ijklmno) in binary potassium molybdate melts has been investigated by in situ high temperature Raman spectroscopy in conjunction with quantum chemistry (QC) ab initio calculations. The symmetric stretching vibrational wavenumbers of molybdenum nonbridging oxygen bonds in high wavenumber range and their respectively corresponding Raman scattering cross sections were determined and analyzed. Deconvolution of the stretching bands of molybdenum nonbridging oxygen bonds of molten Raman spectra by using the Voigt function was carried out. The six-coordinated molybdenum oxygen octahedra [MoO6]6- have been proposed to be present in molten molybdates, apart from the well-known existence of the four-coordinated [MoO4]2- tetrahedra. The quantitative analysis of different species in the molten K2MoO4-MoO3 system and their dependence on the content of MoO3, as well as the relationship with the viscosities of the melts, were also discussed. The quantitative results have been integrated with published data on physical and chemical properties of the melts.

Raman and Density Functional Theory Studies of Li2Mo4O13 Structures in Crystalline and Molten States.

The Li2Mo4O13 melt structure and its Raman spectral characteristics are the key for establishing the composition-structure relationship of lithium molybdate melts. In this work, Raman spectroscopy, factor group analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) were applied to investigate the structural and spectral details of the H-Li2Mo4O13 crystal and a Li2Mo4O13 melt. Factor group analysis shows that the crystal has 171 vibrational modes (84Ag + 87Au), including three acoustic modes (3Au), six librational modes (2Ag + 4Au), 21 translational modes (7Ag + 14Au), and 141 internal modes (75Ag + 66Au). All of the Ag modes are Raman-active and were assigned by the DFT method. The Li2Mo4O13 melt structure was deduced from the H-Li2Mo4O13 crystal structure and demonstrated by the DFT method. The results show that the Li2Mo4O13 melt is made up of Li+ ions and Mo4O132- groups, each of which is formed by four corner-sharing MoO3Ø/MoO2Ø2 tetrahedra (Ø = bridging oxygen). The melt has three acoustic modes (3A) and 54 optical modes (54A). All of the optical modes are Raman-active and were accurately assigned by the DFT method.

In-situ studies on the micro-structure evolution of A2W2O7 (A=Li, Na, K) during melting by high temperature Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory.

In-situ high temperature Raman spectroscopic (HTRS) technique in combination with density functional theory (DFT) analysis has been adopted to investigate the micro-structure of solid and molten A2W2O7 (A=Li, Na, K). The [WO6] octahedra were found to be connected to each other by corner and edge sharing in the crystalline Li2W2O7 and K2W2O7 compounds. In the crystal lattice of Na2W2O7, on the other hand, the [WO4] tetrahedra and [WO6] octahedra were found to coexist and paired by corner sharing. Although the structural diversity has clearly led to distinct Raman spectra of the crystalline A2W2O7 compounds, the spectra of their melts tended to be analogous, showing the typical vibration modes of (W2O7)2- dimer. A mechanism was then proposed to explain the structure evolution occurring during the melting process of A2W2O7. The effect of A+ cation on the Raman bands of (W2O7)2- dimer in molten A2W2O7 has also been investigated. Both the wavenumber and full width at half-height (FWHH) of the characteristic band assigned to the symmetrical stretching vibration mode of WOnb (non-bridging oxygen) in (W2O7)2- were found to decrease in the sequence of Li+, Na+ and K+, indicating the cation effect on the mean bond length and its distribution range of WOnb. In addition, the relative intensity of this band was also influenced by the cation and it was increased in the order of Li2W2O7, Na2W2O7 and K2W2O7, which has been explained by the charge transfer process and confirmed by Mulliken overlap population analysis.

Investigation on the Structure of a LiB3O5-Li2Mo3O10 High-Temperature Solution for Understanding the Li2Mo3O10 Flux Behavior.

LiB3O5 is the most widely used nonlinear optical crystal. Li2Mo3O10 (a nominal composition) is a typical flux used to produce large-sized and high-quality LiB3O5 crystals. The structure of the LiB3O5-Li2Mo3O10 high-temperature solution is essential to understanding the flux behavior of Li2Mo3O10 but still remains unclear. In this work, high-temperature Raman spectroscopy combined with density functional theory (DFT) was applied to study the LiB3O5-Li2Mo3O10 solution structure. Raman spectra of a LiB3O5-Li4Mo5O17-Li2Mo4O13 polycrystalline mixture were recorded at different temperatures until the mixture melted completely. The solution structure was deduced from the spectral changes and verified by DFT calculations. When the mixture began to melt, its molybdate component first changed into the Li2Mo3O10 melt; meanwhile, the complicated molybdate groups existing in the crystalline state transformed into Mo3O102- groups, which are formed by three corner-sharing MoO3Ø-/MoO2Ø2 (Ø = bridging oxygen atom) tetrahedra. When LiB3O5 dissolved in the Li2Mo3O10 melt, the crystal structure collapsed into polymeric chains of [B3O4Ø2-]n. Its basic structural unit, the B3O4Ø2- ring, coordinated with the Mo3O102- group to form a MoO3·B3O4Ø2- complex and a Mo2O72- group. On the basis of the LiB3O5-Li2Mo3O10 solution structure, we discuss the LiB3O5 crystal growth mechanism and the compositional dependence of the solution viscosity.

Raman Spectral and Density Functional Theory Analyses of the CsB3O5 Melt Structure.

Melt structures are essential to understand a variety of crystal growth phenomena of alkali-metal triborates, but have not been fully explored. In this work, Raman spectroscopy, coupled with the density functional theory (DFT) method, has been used to solve the CsB3O5 (CBO) melt structure. When the CBO crystal melts, the extra-ring B4-Ø bonds (the B-Ø bonds of BØ4 groups, Ø = bridging oxygen atom) that connect two B3O3Ø4 rings (the basic boron-oxygen unit in the CBO crystal structure) break. As a result, the three-dimensional boron-oxygen network collapses to unique polymer-like [B3O4Ø2]n chains. On the basis of the optimized [B3O4Ø2]n chain model, the CBO melt Raman spectrum was calculated by the DFT method for the first time and the calculated results confirm that the [B3O4Ø2]n chain is the primary species in the CBO melt. These results also demonstrate the capability of the combined Raman spectral and DFT method for analyzing borate melt structures.

[Microstructure study on bismuth triborate crystal and its melt at high temperature by Raman spectroscopy].

Temperature dependent Raman spectra of BiB3 O6 crystal and its melt were recorded and the microstructure of BiB3 O6 melt was predicted. Multiple theoretical methods including quantum chemistry ab initio calculation and DFT (Density Function Theory) methods were applied to simulate the BiB3 O6 crystal and melt structure and Raman spectra. It was demonstrated that B-O triangles and Bi lattice in the crystal reveal little affected in structure while B-O tetrahedra shows severe distortion with increasing temperature, especially B-O tetrahedra disappears after being completely melt. The microstructure of BiB3 O6 melt consists of six-member ring, [B6 O12](6-), which varies in bond lengths and angles individually. Cation Bi behaves to balance the charge of anion cluster, and the oxygen coordination number of cation Bi is 3, different from the crystal situation in which cation Bi is coordinated with 6 oxygens.