Direct Measurement of the Selective Microwave-Induced Heating of Agglomerates of Dipolar Molecules: The Origin of and Parameters Controlling a Microwave Specific Superheating Effect.

Agglomerates of polar molecules in nonpolar solvents are selectively heated by microwave radiation. The magnitude of the selective heating was directly measured by using the temperature dependence of the intensities of the Stokes and anti-Stokes bands in the Raman spectra of p-nitroanisole (pNA) and mesitylene. Under dynamic heating conditions, a large apparent temperature difference (ΔT) of over 100 °C was observed between the polar pNA solute and the nonpolar mesitylene solvent. This represents the first direct measurement of the selective microwave heating process. The magnitude of the selective microwave heating was affected by the properties of the agglomerated pNA. As the concentration of the pNA increases, the magnitude of the selective heating of the pNA was observed to decrease. This is explained by the tendency of the pNA dipoles to orient in an antiparallel fashion in the aggregates as measured by the Kirkwood g value, which decreased with increasing concentration. This effect reduces the net dipole moment of the agglomerates, which decreases the microwave absorption. After the radiation was terminated, the effective temperature of the dipolar molecules returned slowly to that of the medium. The slow heat transfer was modeled successfully by treating the solutions as a biphasic solvent/solute system. Based on modeling and the fact that the agglomerate can be heated above the boiling temperature of the solvent, an insulating layer of solvent vapor is suggested to form around the heated agglomerate, slowing convective heat transfer out of the agglomerate. This is an effect unique to microwave heating.

Luminescent zero-dimensional organic metal halide hybrids with near-unity quantum efficiency.

Single crystalline zero-dimensional (0D) organic-inorganic hybrid materials with perfect host-guest structures have been developed as a new generation of highly efficient light emitters. Here we report a series of lead-free organic metal halide hybrids with a 0D structure, (C4N2H14X)4SnX6 (X = Br, I) and (C9NH20)2SbX5 (X = Cl), in which the individual metal halide octahedra (SnX64-) and quadrangular pyramids (SbX52-) are completely isolated from each other and surrounded by the organic ligands C4N2H14X+ and C9NH20+, respectively. The isolation of the photoactive metal halide species by the wide band gap organic ligands leads to no interaction or electronic band formation between the metal halide species, allowing the bulk materials to exhibit the intrinsic properties of the individual metal halide species. These 0D organic metal halide hybrids can also be considered as perfect host-guest systems, with the metal halide species periodically doped in the wide band gap matrix. Highly luminescent, strongly Stokes shifted broadband emissions with photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (PLQEs) of close to unity were realized, as a result of excited state structural reorganization of the individual metal halide species. Our discovery of highly luminescent single crystalline 0D organic-inorganic hybrid materials as perfect host-guest systems opens up a new paradigm in functional materials design.

Electronic Structure and Properties of Berkelium Iodates.

The reaction of 249Bk(OH)4 with iodate under hydrothermal conditions results in the formation of Bk(IO3)3 as the major product with trace amounts of Bk(IO3)4 also crystallizing from the reaction mixture. The structure of Bk(IO3)3 consists of nine-coordinate BkIII cations that are bridged by iodate anions to yield layers that are isomorphous with those found for AmIII, CfIII, and with lanthanides that possess similar ionic radii. Bk(IO3)4 was expected to adopt the same structure as M(IO3)4 (M = Ce, Np, Pu), but instead parallels the structural chemistry of the smaller ZrIV cation. BkIII-O and BkIV-O bond lengths are shorter than anticipated and provide further support for a postcurium break in the actinide series. Photoluminescence and absorption spectra collected from single crystals of Bk(IO3)4 show evidence for doping with BkIII in these crystals. In addition to luminescence from BkIII in the Bk(IO3)4 crystals, a broad-band absorption feature is initially present that is similar to features observed in systems with intervalence charge transfer. However, the high-specific activity of 249Bk (t1/2 = 320 d) causes oxidation of BkIII and only BkIV is present after a few days with concomitant loss of both the BkIII luminescence and the broadband feature. The electronic structure of Bk(IO3)3 and Bk(IO3)4 were examined using a range of computational methods that include density functional theory both on clusters and on periodic structures, relativistic ab initio wave function calculations that incorporate spin-orbit coupling (CASSCF), and by a full-model Hamiltonian with spin-orbit coupling and Slater-Condon parameters (CONDON). Some of these methods provide evidence for an asymmetric ground state present in BkIV that does not strictly adhere to Russel-Saunders coupling and Hund's Rule even though it possesses a half-filled 5f 7 shell. Multiple factors contribute to the asymmetry that include 5f electrons being present in microstates that are not solely spin up, spin-orbit coupling induced mixing of low-lying excited states with the ground state, and covalency in the BkIV-O bonds that distributes the 5f electrons onto the ligands. These factors are absent or diminished in other f7 ions such as GdIII or CmIII.

One-dimensional organic lead halide perovskites with efficient bluish white-light emission.

Organic-inorganic hybrid metal halide perovskites, an emerging class of solution processable photoactive materials, welcome a new member with a one-dimensional structure. Herein we report the synthesis, crystal structure and photophysical properties of one-dimensional organic lead bromide perovskites, C4N2H14PbBr4, in which the edge sharing octahedral lead bromide chains [PbBr4 2-]∞ are surrounded by the organic cations C4N2H14 2+ to form the bulk assembly of core-shell quantum wires. This unique one-dimensional structure enables strong quantum confinement with the formation of self-trapped excited states that give efficient bluish white-light emissions with photoluminescence quantum efficiencies of approximately 20% for the bulk single crystals and 12% for the microscale crystals. This work verifies once again that one-dimensional systems are favourable for exciton self-trapping to produce highly efficient below-gap broadband luminescence, and opens up a new route towards superior light emitters based on bulk quantum materials.

Characterization of berkelium(III) dipicolinate and borate compounds in solution and the solid state.

Berkelium is positioned at a crucial location in the actinide series between the inherently stable half-filled 5f(7) configuration of curium and the abrupt transition in chemical behavior created by the onset of a metastable divalent state that starts at californium. However, the mere 320-day half-life of berkelium's only available isotope, (249)Bk, has hindered in-depth studies of the element's coordination chemistry. Herein, we report the synthesis and detailed solid-state and solution-phase characterization of a berkelium coordination complex, Bk(III)tris(dipicolinate), as well as a chemically distinct Bk(III) borate material for comparison. We demonstrate that berkelium's complexation is analogous to that of californium. However, from a range of spectroscopic techniques and quantum mechanical calculations, it is clear that spin-orbit coupling contributes significantly to berkelium's multiconfigurational ground state.

Ca12InC13-x and Ba12InC18H4: alkaline-earth indium allenylides synthesized in AE/Li flux (AE = Ca, Ba).

Two new complex main-group metal carbides were synthesized from reactions of indium, carbon, and a metal hydride in metal flux mixtures of an alkaline earth (AE = Ca, Ba) and lithium. Ca(12)InC(13-x) and Ba(12)InC(18)H(4) both crystallize in cubic space group Im3̅ [a = 9.6055(8) and 11.1447(7) Å, respectively]. Their related structures are both built on a body-centered-cubic array of icosahedral clusters comprised of an indium atom and 12 surrounding alkaline-earth cations; these clusters are connected by bridging monatomic anions (either H(-) or C(4-)) and allenylide anions, C(3)(4-). The allenylide anions were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and hydrolysis studies. Density of states and crystal orbital Hamilton population calculations confirm that both compounds are metallic.

Metal site-mediated, thermally induced structural changes in Cr6+-silicalite-2 (MEL) molecular sieves.

Cr(6+) ions were incorporated into the lattice sites of phase-pure silicalite-2 made using 3,5-dimethylpiperidinium as a structure-directing agent. The materials exhibited a remarkably well-resolved vibronic emission consisting of a high frequency progression of 987 cm(-1), which was assigned to the fundamental symmetric stretching mode of the (Si-O-)(2)Cr(═O)(2) group dominated by the terminal Cr═O stretch. A low frequency progression at 214 cm(-1), which was assigned to a symmetric O-Cr-O bending mode, was built on each band of the 987 cm(-1) progression. Studies of the vibronic structure of the emission spectrum as a function of temperature and Cr ion concentration reveal an abrupt change in the Franck-Condon factor of the emission at 20 K for samples with very low Cr concentrations (0.03 mol %). The change in the Franck-Condon factor is attributed to a temperature-induced structural change in the coordination sphere of the metal ion. This structural change was found to be accompanied by a concomitant structural change in the lattice structure of the silicalite-2. This structural change, as studied by temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction, did not involve a crystallographic phase change but an abrupt decrease in the unit cell volume, caused specifically by a decrease in the c-axis. This structural change was not observed in pure silicalite-2, indicating that it is not intrinsic to the silicalite lattice. Moreover, no similar structural change was observed at higher Cr loading (1 mol %). This suggests that the presence of the Cr ions and the changes in the coordination geometry they undergo at low temperature induced the observed contraction in the silicalite-2 lattice, in effect acting as a thermal switch that decreases the unit cell volume.

Synthesis, characterization, and spectroscopic characteristics of chromium(6+) and -(4+) silicalite-2 (ZSM-11) materials.

The systematic incorporation of Cr ions into a phase-pure silicalite-2 lattice was accomplished through hydrothermal synthesis using 3,5-dimethylpiperidinium as a templating agent. The Cr ions, after calcination to remove the template, were in the 6+ oxidation state, with their incorporation into the lattice verified by the systematic expansion of the unit cell as a function of Cr loading. The structures of these materials as revealed by electronic spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) were consistent with the dioxo structure typically exhibited by Cr(6+) in an amorphous silica matrix. These materials were highly luminescent, with the emission spectra showing an unusually well-resolved vibronic structure characteristic of an emissive site with little inhomogeneous broadening. The site was reduced under flowing CO to Cr(4+), as characterized by XANES. The reduction of Cr from 6+ to 4+ resulted in unit-cell volumes that are systematically smaller than those observed with Cr(6+), even though the ionic radius of Cr(4+) is larger. This is attributed to the fact that the Cr(6+) site is not a simple metal ion but a significantly larger [CrO(2)](2+) unit, requiring a larger lattice expansion to accommodate it. Through analysis of the XANES preedge and assignment of the ligand-field spectrum of the Cr(4+) ions, it is possible to establish isomorphic substitution into the silicalite lattice.

Photothermal initiation of hybrid organic/inorganic metastable interstitial composites: synergistic effects on the dynamics of energy release.

The organic high-energy material pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) was incorporated at low concentrations into Al (100 nm)/Fe(2)O(3) metastable intersitital composites (MIC) to form a hybrid organic/inorganic high-energy material. Studies of the dynamics of energy release were carried out by initiating the reaction photothermally with a single 8 ns pulse of the 1064 nm fundamental of a Nd:YAG laser. The reaction dynamics were measured using time-resolved spectroscopy of the light emitted from the deflagrating material. Two parameters were measured: the time to initiation and the duration of the deflagration. The presence of small amounts of PETN (16 mg/g of MIC) results in a dramatic decrease in the initiation time. This is attributed to a contribution to the temperature of the reacting system from the combustion of the PETN that, at lower loadings, appears to follow an Arrhenius dependence. The presence of PETN was also found to reduce the energy density required for single-pulse photothermal initiation by an order of magnitude, suggesting that hybrid materials such as this may be engineered to optimize their use as an efficient photodetonation medium.