Open AccessCrystal-Phase Control of Ternary Metal Oxides by Solid-State Synthesis with Nanocrystals
Author(s) -
Anna Loiudice,
Bastien P.G. Niau,
Raffaella Buonsanti
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
acs nanoscience au
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2694-2496
DOI - 10.1021/acsnanoscienceau.1c00049
Subject(s) - spinel , nanocrystal , ternary operation , materials science , nanocrystalline material , phase (matter) , chemical engineering , oxide , crystal structure , nanotechnology , crystallography , chemistry , metallurgy , programming language , organic chemistry , computer science , engineering
Ternary metal oxides are materials of interest for many applications, from batteries to catalysis. Their crystalline structure and composition determine their properties, and thus it is important to achieve control over these features. Here, we demonstrate that solid-state chemistry among nanocrystalline precursors is a promising approach for their synthesis. We show that the crystalline phase of nanocrystal precursors direct that of the ternary reaction product. The combination of X-ray and electron microscopy techniques reveals that the spinel and rhombohedral phases of copper iron oxide are obtained by reacting copper nanocrystals with spinel γ-Fe 2 O 3 and corundum α-Fe 2 O 3 nanocrystals, respectively. Considering the available library of nanocrystals with tunable crystal phases, this discovery opens up an alternative pathway toward the synthesis of a wide variety of ternary and quaternary materials, including those with metastable phases.