A structural study of the proton conducting B-site ordered perovskite Ba3Ca1.18Ta1.82O8.73.

The proton conducting material Ba(3)Ca(1.18)Ta(1.82)O(8.73) (BCT18) was synthesized and characterized using diffraction methods and thermal analysis. It was shown that BCT18 is structurally similar to its niobium analogue (BCN18). At synthesis temperatures up to 1500 °C however, BCT18 forms a mixture of Ca- and Ta-site ordered phases, with both 1:1 type and 1:2 type ordering. The phase ratio seems to depend solely on the synthesis conditions, with 1:1 type ordering being the dominant form in most cases. Thermal treatment in vacuum, wet and dry hydrogen, and CO(2) suggests that both forms contain defects (Ca(Ta)(''') and V(O)(··)), allowing the material to absorb water and CO(2). The uptake and the release of H(2)O and of CO(2) are all reversible, as evidenced by x-ray diffraction studies and thermal analysis, suggesting that the molecules are present as structural defects (OH(O)(·) and CO(3O)(×)), rather than surface species or separate hydroxide or carbonate phases. Solid state (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance also confirms the presence of protons, and the peak broadening suggests that they are mobile at room temperature.

Inversion of particle-stabilized emulsions of partially miscible liquids by mild drying of modified silica particles.

Using a system of modified silica particles and mixtures of water and 2,6-lutidine to form particle-stabilized emulsions, we show that subtle alterations to the hydration of the particle surface can cause major shifts in emulsion structure. We use fluorescence confocal microscopy, solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) to explore this sensitivity, along with other shifts caused by modifications to the silica surface chemistry. The silica particles are prepared by a variant of the Stöber procedure and are modified by the inclusion of 3-(aminopropyl)triethoxysilane and the dye fluorescein isothiocyanate. Treatment prior to emulsification consists of gently drying the particles under carefully controlled conditions. In mixtures of water and 2,6-lutidine of critical composition, the particles stabilize droplet emulsions and bijels. Decreasing particle hydration yields an inversion of the emulsions from lutidine-in-water (L/W) to water-in-lutidine (W/L), with bijels forming around inversion. So dependent is the emulsion behavior on particle hydration that microscopic differences in drying within a particle sample can cause differences in the wetting behavior of that sample, which helps to stabilize multiple emulsions. The formation of bijels at emulsion inversion is also crucially dependent on the surface modification of the silica.

Frequency-swept pulse sequences for 19F heteronuclear spin decoupling in solid-state NMR.

Heteronuclear spin decoupling pulse sequences in solid-state NMR have mostly been designed and applied for irradiating 1H as the abundant nucleus. Here, a systematic comparison of different methods for decoupling 19F in rigid organic solids is presented, with a special emphasis on the recently introduced frequency-swept sequences. An extensive series of NMR experiments at different MAS frequencies was conducted on fluorinated model compounds, in combination with large sets of numerical simulations. From both experiments and simulations it can be concluded that the frequency-swept sequences SWf-TPPM and SWf-SPINAL deliver better and more robust spin decoupling than the original sequences SPINAL and TPPM. Whereas the existence of a large chemical shift anisotropy and isotropic shift dispersion for 19F does compromise the decoupling efficiency, the relative performance hierarchy of the sequences remains unaffected. Therefore, in the context of rigid organic solids under moderate MAS frequencies, the performance trends observed for 19F decoupling are very similar to those observed for 1H decoupling.

The direct DIVAM experiment: a spin dynamics analysis.

Domain selection in polymer NMR is limited to experiments specifically suited to each structural domain owing to its particular spin dynamics and relaxation properties. The DIVAM experiment can be tuned to select for signal from the domain of interest, making it possible to obtain signals specific to different domains using only one experiment. An early description of this sequence explains this tunability using a simple one-spin-relaxation model, thereby limiting the selection mechanism to incoherent processes and thus ignoring the coherent terms such as chemical shift anisotropy (CSA), dipolar coupling and offset terms. Experiments have shown that when the DIVAM sequence is applied directly to the nucleus of interest, referred to as direct DIVAM (DD), transient behavior is observed in the signal intensity on the sample spinning time scale. This indicates that the coherent terms are involved in the selection process; the exact role of these terms is explored in this work. SIMPSON simulations illustrate that the CSA and offset terms can play a dominant role in domain selection; however, the dipole term was relatively ineffective and required large values before substantial selection was predicted. Using a one-spin-relaxation model, which now includes a chemical shift evolution term, an analytical expression for the signal intensity was provided as a function of interpulse delay (tau), excitation angle (theta), relaxation time (T2), and offset frequency (Deltanu). These indicate that the selection behavior varies substantially with differing time scales and excitation angles. For small angles and long delay times DD behaves primarily as a relaxation filter, whereas for larger angles and short delay times the coherent terms take over dominated by the CSA interactions. The DD sequence can therefore be set to select on the basis of the transverse relaxation rate or the strength of the CSA interaction, depending on the excitation angle used.

Fluorine-19 solid state NMR study of vinylidenefluoride polymers using selective relaxation filters.

Two fluoropolymers, poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) and a vinylidenefluoride telomer (VDFT), with molecular weights of 1 x 10(6) and 2 x 10(3) Da by GPC, respectively, have been analysed by 19F solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Relaxation-filtered proton-decoupled magic-angle spinning (MAS) experiments, namely T1rho filter, dipolar filter (DF), direct-polarisation delayed acquisition (DPDA) and discrimination induced by variable-amplitude minipulses (DIVAM), allowed signals in the direct polarisation (DP) spectra of PVDF and the VDFT to be discussed in terms of rigid and mobile domains. Both samples showed signals, which were multi-componential, but they differ in the nature of the crystalline form present. Thus, the Vinylidenefluoride (VDF) telomer exhibited a crystalline component corresponding to beta PVDF, whereas the PVDF contained crystallites of the alpha form. Signals relating to end groups and reverse units, plus an anomalous signal displaying long-time transverse relaxation in the DPDA spectrum, were found for both polymers, though they showed diversity in chemical shift and content. Signals related to reverse units and/or end groups were seen between approximately -115 and approximately -117 ppm for both samples. High-speed MAS at higher magnetic field resulted in an increase in resolution so that signals previously attributed to single-phase characteristics are shown to indicate the possibility of several different mobilities. The results are debated with respect to molecular weight and relaxation parameters.

Investigations on organo-sulfur-nitrogen rings and the thiocyanogen Polymer, (SCN)x.

The synthesis and full characterisation of a series of 1,2,4-thiadiazoles is reported. (SCN)(x) has been studied by a variety of techniques and the data compared with 1,2,4-thiadiazole and 1,2,4-dithiazoles. The observed data suggest that the polymer consists of 1,2,4-dithiazole rings linked by nitrogen atoms. For (SCN)(x), the MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy showed a parent ion at 1149 and a series of peaks with (SCN)(2) repeat units (116 m/z); this result implies that (SCN)(2) may be the monomer unit of the polymer. Its IR spectrum shows a very broad peak with maximum at 1134 cm(-1) consisting of several overlapping peaks in the same region as ring vibrations for 1,2,4-thiadiazole and 1,2,4-dithiazole compounds. Peaks in the Raman spectrum in the range 400-480 cm(-1) support the presence of disulfide units within the polymer. The solid-state (13)C NMR (99 % (13)C-labelled) spectrum is dominated by two singlets of equal intensity at approximately 187 and 184 ppm with low intensity peaks in the range 152-172 ppm, in approximately the same range as both 1,2,4-thiadiazoles and 1,2,4-dithiazoles. The solid-state (15)N NMR (99 % (15)N labelled) spectrum displays two major peaks of similar intensity at 236.9 and 197.2 ppm, which are clearly very different environments to those observed in bis(3-bromo-1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-yl) disulfide, but similar to 1,2,4-dithiazoles. The X-ray structures of seven C-S-N systems are reported. Preliminary studies on (SeCN)(x) suggest that literature references to this polymer may be in error with the red solid actually being red selenium.

Ionic liquids and eutectic mixtures as solvent and template in synthesis of zeolite analogues.

The challenges associated with synthesizing porous materials mean that new classes of zeolites (zeotypes)-such as aluminosilicate zeolites and zeolite analogues-together with new methods of preparing known zeotypes, continue to be of great importance. Normally these materials are prepared hydrothermally with water as the solvent in a sealed autoclave under autogenous pressure. The reaction mixture usually includes an organic template or 'structure-directing agent' that guides the synthesis pathway towards particular structures. Here we report the preparation of aluminophosphate zeolite analogues by using ionic liquids and eutectic mixtures. An imidazolium-based ionic liquid acts as both solvent and template, leading to four zeotype frameworks under different experimental conditions. The structural characteristics of the materials can be traced back to the solvent chemistry used. Because of the vanishingly low vapour pressure of ionic liquids, synthesis takes place at ambient pressure, eliminating safety concerns associated with high hydrothermal pressures. The ionic liquid can also be recycled for further use. A choline chloride/urea eutectic mixture is also used in the preparation of a new zeotype framework.