NMR parameters in column 13 metal fluoride compounds (AlF3, GaF3, InF3 and TlF) from first principle calculations.

The relationship between the experimental (19)F isotropic chemical shift and the (19)F isotropic shielding calculated using the gauge including projector augmented-wave (GIPAW) method with PBE functional is investigated in the case of GaF3, InF3, TlF and several AlF3 polymorphs. It is shown that the linear correlation between experimental and DFT-PBE calculated values previously established on alkali, alkaline earth and rare earth of column 3 basic fluorides (Sadoc et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 13 (2011) 18539-18550) remains valid in the case of column 13 metal fluorides, indicating that it allows predicting (19)F solid state NMR spectra of a broad range of crystalline fluorides with a relatively good accuracy. For the isostructural α-AlF3, GaF3 and InF3 phases, PBE-DFT geometry optimization leads to noticeably overbended M-F-M bond angles and underestimated (27)Al, (71)Ga and (115)In calculated quadrupolar coupling constants. For the studied compounds, whose structures are built of corner shared MF6 octahedra, it is shown that the electric field gradient (EFG) tensor at the cationic sites is not related to distortions of the octahedral units, in contrast to what previously observed for isolated AlF6 octahedra in fluoroaluminates.

Synthesis and structure resolution of RbLaF4.

The synthesis and structure resolution of RbLaF(4) are described. RbLaF(4) is synthesized by solid-state reaction between RbF and LaF(3) at 425 °C under a nonoxidizing atmosphere. Its crystal structure has been resolved by combining neutron and synchrotron powder diffraction data refinements (Pnma,a = 6.46281(2) Å, b = 3.86498(1) Å, c = 16.17629(4) Å, Z = 4). One-dimensional (87)Rb, (139)La, and (19)F MAS NMR spectra have been recorded and are in agreement with the proposed structural model. Assignment of the (19)F resonances is performed on the basis of both (19)F-(139)La J-coupling multiplet patterns observed in a heteronuclear DQ-filtered J-resolved spectrum and (19)F-(87)Rb HMQC MAS experiments. DFT calculations of both the (19)F isotropic chemical shieldings and the (87)Rb, (139)La electric field gradient tensors using the GIPAW and PAW methods implemented in the CASTEP code are in good agreement with the experimental values and support the proposed structural model. Finally, the conductivity of RbLaF(4) and luminescence properties of Eu-doped LaRbF(4) are investigated.

NMR parameters in alkali, alkaline earth and rare earth fluorides from first principle calculations.

(19)F isotropic chemical shifts for alkali, alkaline earth and rare earth of column 3 basic fluorides are measured and the corresponding isotropic chemical shieldings are calculated using the GIPAW method. When using the PBE exchange-correlation functional for the treatment of the cationic localized empty orbitals of Ca(2+), Sc(3+) (3d) and La(3+) (4f), a correction is needed to accurately calculate (19)F chemical shieldings. We show that the correlation between experimental isotropic chemical shifts and calculated isotropic chemical shieldings established for the studied compounds allows us to predict (19)F NMR spectra of crystalline compounds with a relatively good accuracy. In addition, we experimentally determine the quadrupolar parameters of (25)Mg in MgF(2) and calculate the electric field gradients of (25)Mg in MgF(2) and (139)La in LaF(3) using both PAW and LAPW methods. The orientation of the EFG components in the crystallographic frame, provided by DFT calculations, is analysed in terms of electron densities. It is shown that consideration of the quadrupolar charge deformation is essential for the analysis of slightly distorted environments or highly irregular polyhedra.

Large increase of the curie temperature by orbital ordering control.

Using first principle calculations we showed that the Curie temperature of manganites thin films can be increased by far more than an order of magnitude by applying appropriate strains. Our main breakthrough is that the control of the orbital ordering responsible for the spectacular T{C} increase cannot be imposed by the substrate only. Indeed, the strains, first applied by the substrate, need to be maintained over the growth direction by the alternation of the manganite layers with another appropriate material. Following these theoretical findings, we synthesized such superlattices and verified our theoretical predictions.

Structure and stability of VO2+ in aqueous solution: a Car-Parrinello and static ab initio study.

Quantum chemical calculations have been carried out to get some insight concerning the effects of temperature and solvent acidity on the structure and stability of solvated VO2+ as the elementary chemical unit involved in the nucleation of vanadophosphates. First, because some recent theoretical studies have suggested a tendency of density functional theory (DFT) to favor lower coordination numbers for such systems, static calculations have been performed on [VO2(H2O)(4-n)]+.nH2O (n=0-2) conformers at the MP2 and DFT level of theory, using two different combinations of basis sets. The results of two pure-GGA (BP86 and PBEPBE), two hybrid-GGA (PBE1PBE and mPWPW91), and two hybrid-meta-GGA (mPW1B95 and B1B95) functionals were analyzed on these systems. The comparison of the results indicates that the stability differences between the two methodologies are resolved when hydration energy is taken into account, provided that some amount of HF exchange is introduced in the DFT calculations. In a second step, Car-Parrinello simulations have been carried out starting from VO2(H2O)4+ surrounded by water molecules. The calculations at 300 K show the natural tendency of VO2(H2O)4+ to decompose to VO2(OH)2- and the requirements to work with an already acidified medium to be able to investigate the coordination sphere of VO2+ for an extended period of time. Under such conditions, we have obtained a clear preference for a five-coordinated vanadium. The molecular dynamics simulations performed at 500 K starting from hydrated VO2+ in a protonated medium found VO(OH)3 to be the most stable structure, whereas this ideal candidate for oxolation reactions is expected to be a very minor species at room temperature.

Role of charge transfer configurations in LaMnO3, CaMnO3, and CaFeO3.

A simple scheme is proposed to analyze the N-electron wave function obtained in embedded cluster calculations in valence bond terms such as ligand-to-metal charge transfer and non-charge-transfer determinants. The analysis is based on a unitary transformation of pairs of natural orbitals to optimal atomiclike orbitals. The procedure is applied to compare the degree of ionicity in NiO and MnO and to explain the existence or absence of Jahn-Teller distortions in LaMnO3, CaMnO3, and CaFeO3. The authors find that the ground state of LaMnO3 is dominated by non-charge-transfer configurations, whereas the charge transfer configurations dominate the ground state wave function in the other two perovskites.