skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 10:00 PM to 12:00 AM ET on Tuesday, March 25 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Title: Electronic stabilization by occupational disorder in the ternary bismuthide Li 3–x–y In x Bi ( x  ≃ 0.14, y  ≃ 0.29)
A ternary derivative of Li 3 Bi with the composition Li 3– x – y In x Bi ( x  ≃ 0.14, y  ≃ 0.29) was produced by a mixed In+Bi flux approach. The crystal structure adopts the space group Fd \overline{3} m (No. 227), with a = 13.337 (4) Å, and can be viewed as a 2 × 2 × 2 superstructure of the parent Li 3 Bi phase, resulting from a partial ordering of Li and In in the tetrahedral voids of the Bi fcc packing. In addition to the Li/In substitutional disorder, partial occupation of some Li sites is observed. The Li deficiency develops to reduce the total electron count in the system, counteracting thereby the electron doping introduced by the In substitution. First-principles calculations confirm the electronic rationale of the observed disorder.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1709813
PAR ID:
10208971
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Acta Crystallographica Section C Structural Chemistry
Volume:
76
Issue:
6
ISSN:
2053-2296
Page Range / eLocation ID:
585 to 590
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract A new ternary phase, TiIrB, was synthesized by arc-melting of the elements and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic Ti 1+ x Rh 2− x + y Ir 3− y B 3 structure type, space group Pbam (no. 55) with the lattice parameters a  = 8.655(2), b  = 15.020(2), and c  = 3.2271(4) Å. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to understand the electronic structure, including a Bader charge analysis. The charge distribution of TiIrB in the Ti 1+ x Rh 2− x + y Ir 3− y B 3 -type phase has been evaluated for the first time, and the results indicate that more electron density is transferred to the boron atoms in the zigzag B 4 units than to isolated boron atoms. 
    more » « less
  2. Combining experimental and theoretical studies, we investigate the role of R-site (R = Y, Sm, Bi) element on the phase formation and thermal stability of R 2 (Mn 1−x Fe x ) 4 O 10−δ ( x = 0, 0.5, 1) mullite-type oxides. Our results show a distinct R-site dependent phase behavior for mullite-type oxides as Fe is substituted for Mn: 100% mullite-type phase was formed in (Y, Sm, Bi) 2 Mn 4 O 10 ; 55% and 18% of (Y, Sm) 2 Mn 2 Fe 2 O 10−δ was found when R = Y and Sm, respectively, for equal Fe and Mn molar concentrations in the reactants, whereas Bi formed 54% O10- and 42% O9-mixed mullite-type phases. Furthermore, when the reactants contain 100% Fe, no mullite-type phase was formed for R = Y and Sm, but a sub-group transition to Bi 2 Fe 4 O 9 O9-phase was found for R = Bi. Thermogravimetric analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results show a decreasing thermal stability in O10-type structure with increasing Fe incorporation; for example, the decomposition temperature is 1142 K for Bi 2 Mn 2 Fe 2 O 10−δ vs. 1217 K for Bi 2 Mn 4 O 10 . On the other hand, Bi 2 Fe 4 O 9 O9-type structure is found to be thermally stable up to 1227 K. These findings are explained by electronic structure calculations: (1) as Fe concentration increases, Jahn–Teller distortion results in mid band-gap empty states from unstable Fe 4+ occupied octahedra, which is responsible for the decrease in O10 structure stability; (2) the directional sp orbital hybridization unique to Bi effectively stabilizes the mullite-type structure as Fe replaces Mn. 
    more » « less
  3. The solvothermal synthetic exploration of the Bi–S–halogen phase space resulted in the synthesis of two bismuth sulfohalides with common structural motifs. Bi 13 S 18 I 2 was confirmed to have the previously reported composition and crystal structure. In contrast, the bromide analogue was shown to have a formula of neither Bi 19 S 27 Br 3 nor Bi 13 S 18 Br 2 , in contrast to the previous reports. The composition, refined from single crystal X-ray diffraction and confirmed by elemental analysis, high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction, and total scattering, is close to Bi 13 S 17 Br 3 due to the partial S/Br substitution in the framework. Bi 13 S 18 I 2 and Bi 13 S 17 Br 3 are n -type semiconductors with similar optical bandgaps of ∼0.9 eV but different charge and heat transport properties. Due to the framework S/Br disorder, Bi 13 S 17 Br 3 exhibits lower thermal and electrical conductivities than the iodine-containing analogue. The high Seebeck coefficients and ultralow thermal conductivities indicate that the reported bismuth sulfohalides are promising platforms to develop novel thermoelectric materials. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract Synthesizing solids in molten fluxes enables the rapid diffusion of soluble species at temperatures lower than in solid‐state reactions, leading to crystal formation of kinetically stable compounds. In this study, we demonstrate the effectiveness of mixed hydroxide and halide fluxes in synthesizing complex Sr/Ag/Se in mixed LiOH/LiCl. We have accessed a series of two‐dimensional Sr(Ag1−xLix)2Se2layered phases. With increased LiOH/LiCl ratio or reaction temperature, Li partially substituted Ag to form solid solutions of Sr(Ag1−xLix)2Se2withxup to 0.45. In addition, a new type of intergrowth compound [Sr3Se2][(Ag1−xLix)2Se2] was synthesized upon further reaction of Sr(Ag1−xLix)2Se2with SrSe. Both Sr(Ag1−xLix)2Se2and [Sr3Se2][(Ag1−xLix)2Se2] exhibit a direct band gap, which increases with increasing Li substitution (x). Therefore, the band gap of Sr(Ag1−xLix)2Se2can be precisely tuned via fine‐tuningxthat is controlled by only the flux ratio and temperature. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract The correlation between lattice chemistry and cation migration in high‐entropy Li+conductors is not fully understood due to challenges in characterizing anion disorder. To address this issue, argyrodite family of Li+conductors, which enables structural engineering of the anion lattice, is investigated. Specifically, new argyrodites, Li5.3PS4.3Cl1.7−xBrx(0 ≤x≤ 1.7), with varying anion entropy are synthesized and X‐ray diffraction, neutron scattering, and multinuclear high‐resolution solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) are used to determine the resulting structures. Ion and lattice dynamics are determined using variable‐temperature multinuclear NMR relaxometry and maximum entropy method analysis of neutron scattering, aided by constrained ab initio molecular dynamics calculations. 15 atomic configurations of anion arrangements are identified, producing a wide range of local lattice dynamics. High entropy in the lattice structure, composition, and dynamics stabilize otherwise metastable Li‐deficient structures and flatten the energy landscape for cation migration. This resulted in the highest room‐temperature ionic conductivity of 26 mS cm−1and a low activation energy of 0.155 eV realized in Li5.3PS4.3Cl0.7Br, where anion disorder is maximized. This study sheds light on the complex structure–property relationships of high‐entropy superionic conductors, highlighting the significance of heterogeneity in lattice dynamics. 
    more » « less