: Many oxides tend to form different structures (polymorphs) for small particles. High temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry has been used to measure the enthalpy as a function of polymorphism ...and surface area for oxides of Al, Ti, and Zr. The results confirm crossovers in polymorph stability at the nanoscale. The energies of internal and external surfaces of zeolitic silicas with open framework structures are an order of magnitude smaller than those of oxides of normal density.
Among transition metal carbides and nitrides, zirconium, and hafnium compounds are the most stable and have the highest melting temperatures. Here we review published data on phases and phase ...equilibria in Hf-Zr-C-N-O system, from experiment and ab initio computations with focus on rocksalt Zr and Hf carbides and nitrides, their solid solutions and oxygen solubility limits. The systematic experimental studies on phase equilibria and thermodynamics were performed mainly 40-60 years ago, mostly for binary systems of Zr and Hf with C and N. Since then, synthesis of several oxynitrides was reported in the fluorite-derivative type of structures, of orthorhombic and cubic higher nitrides Zr
N
and Hf
N
. An ever-increasing stream of data is provided by ab initio computations, and one of the testable predictions is that the rocksalt HfC
N
phase would have the highest known melting temperature. Experimental data on melting temperatures of hafnium carbonitrides are absent, but minimum in heat capacity and maximum in hardness were reported for Hf(C,N) solid solutions. New methods, such as electrical pulse heating and laser melting, can fill the gaps in experimental data and validate ab initio predictions.
Structural and thermodynamic factors which may influence burnt bone survivorship in archaeological contexts have not been fully described. A highly controlled experimental reference collection of ...fresh, modern bone burned in temperature increments 100–1200˚C is presented here to document the changes to bone tissue relevant to preservation using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Specific parameters investigated here include the rate of organic loss, amount of bone mineral recrystallization, and average growth in bone mineral crystallite size. An archaeological faunal assemblage ca. 30,000 years ago from Tolbor-17 (Mongolia) is additionally considered to confirm visibility of changes seen in the modern reference sample and to relate structural changes to commonly used zooarchaeological scales of burning intensity. The timing of our results indicates that the loss of organic components in both modern and archaeological bone burnt to temperatures up to 700˚C are not accompanied by growth changes in the average crystallite size of bone mineral bioapatite, leaving the small and reactive bioapatite crystals of charred and carbonized bone exposed to diagenetic agents in depositional contexts. For bones burnt to temperatures of 700˚C and above, two major increases in average crystallite size are noted which effectively decrease the available surface area of bone mineral crystals, decreasing reactivity and offering greater thermodynamic stability despite the mechanical fragility of calcined bone. We discuss the archaeological implications of these observations within the context of Tolbor-17 and the challenges of identifying anthropogenic fire.
Hafnia (HfO2) and zirconia (ZrO2) are of great interest in the quest for replacing silicon oxide in semiconductor field effect transistors because of their high permittivity. Both exhibit extensive ...polymorphism and understanding the energetics of their transitions is of major fundamental and practical importance. In this study, we present a systematic thermodynamic summary of the influence of particle size on thermodynamic phase stability in hafnia and zirconia using recently measured enthalpy data from the literature. The amorphous phase is found to be the most energetically stable above 165 and 363 m2/g of surface area for HfO2 and ZrO2, respectively. Below 16 and 20.3 m2/g of surface area, respectively, the monoclinic phase is the most energetically stable for HfO2 and ZrO2. At intermediate sizes there are closely balanced energetics among monoclinic, tetragonal, and cubic phases. The energy crossovers reflect decreasing surface enthalpy in the order monoclinic, tetragonal, cubic and amorphous for both hafnia and zirconia.
Lanthanum, yttrium, and neodymium doped uranium dioxide samples in the fluorite structure have been synthesized, characterized in terms of metal ratio and oxygen content, and their enthalpies of ...formation measured by high temperature oxide melt solution calorimetry. For oxides doped with 10–50 mol % rare earth (Ln) cations, the formation enthalpies from constituent oxides (LnO1.5, UO2 and UO3 in a reaction not involving oxidation or reduction) become increasingly exothermic with increasing rare earth content, while showing no significant dependence on the varying uranium oxidation state. The oxidation enthalpy of LnxU1−xO2−0.5x+y is similar to that of UO2 to UO3 for all three rare earth doped systems. Though this may suggest that the oxidized uranium in these systems is energetically similar to that in the hexavalent state, thermochemical data alone can not constrain whether the uranium is present as U5+, U6+, or a mixture of oxidation states. The formation enthalpies from elements calculated from the calorimetric data are generally consistent with those from free energy measurements.
•We synthesize, characterize LnxU1−xO2−0.5x+y solid solutions (Ln = La, Y, Nd).•Formation enthalpies become more exothermic with increasing rare earth content.•Oxidation enthalpy of LnxU1−xO2−0.5x+y is similar to that of UO2 to UO3.•Direct calorimetric measurements are in good agreement with free energy data.
The enthalpy of adsorption of CO2 on an environmentally friendly metal–organic framework, CD-MOF-2, has been determined directly for the first time using adsorption calorimetry at 25 °C. This ...calorimetric methodology provides a much more accurate and model-independent measurement of adsorption enthalpy than that obtained by calculation from the adsorption isotherms, especially for systems showing complex and strongly exothermic adsorption behavior. The differential enthalpy of CO2 adsorption shows enthalpy values in line with chemisorption behavior. At near-zero coverage, an irreversible binding event with an enthalpy of −113.5 kJ/mol CO2 is observed, which is followed by a reversible −65.4 kJ/mol binding event. These enthalpies are assigned to adsorption on more and less reactive hydroxyl groups, respectively. Further, a second plateau shows an enthalpy of −40.1 kJ/mol and is indicative of physisorbed CO2. The calorimetric data confirm the presence of at least two energetically distinct binding sites for chemisorbed CO2 on CD-MOF-2.
Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) is a metastable phase often observed during low temperature inorganic synthesis and biomineralization. ACC transforms with aging or heating into a less hydrated ...form, and with time crystallizes to calcite or aragonite. The energetics of transformation and crystallization of synthetic and biogenic (extracted from California purple sea urchin larval spicules, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) ACC were studied using isothermal acid solution calorimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Transformation and crystallization of ACC can follow an energetically downhill sequence: more metastable hydrated ACC → less metastable hydrated ACC ⇒ anhydrous ACC ∼ biogenic anhydrous ACC ⇒ vaterite → aragonite → calcite. In a given reaction sequence, not all these phases need to occur. The transformations involve a series of ordering, dehydration, and crystallization processes, each lowering the enthalpy (and free energy) of the system, with crystallization of the dehydrated amorphous material lowering the enthalpy the most. ACC is much more metastable with respect to calcite than the crystalline polymorphs vaterite or aragonite. The anhydrous ACC is less metastable than the hydrated, implying that the structural reorganization during dehydration is exothermic and irreversible. Dehydrated synthetic and anhydrous biogenic ACC are similar in enthalpy. The transformation sequence observed in biomineralization could be mainly energetically driven; the first phase deposited is hydrated ACC, which then converts to anhydrous ACC, and finally crystallizes to calcite. The initial formation of ACC may be a first step in the precipitation of calcite under a wide variety of conditions, including geological CO₂ sequestration.
Phase transformations in multicomponent rare earth sesquioxides were studied by splat quenching from the melt, high temperature differential thermal analysis and synchrotron X-ray diffraction on ...laser-heated samples. Three compositions were prepared by the solution combustion method: (La,Sm,Dy,Er,RE)2O3, where all oxides are in equimolar ratios and RE is Nd or Gd or Y. After annealing at 800 °C, all powders contained mainly a phase of C-type bixbyite structure. After laser melting, all samples were quenched in a single-phase monoclinic B-type structure. Thermal analysis indicated three reversible phase transitions in the range 1900–2400 °C, assigned as transformations into A, H, and X rare earth sesquioxides structure types. Unit cell volumes and volume changes on C-B, B-A, and H-X transformations were measured by X-ray diffraction and consistent with the trend in pure rare earth sesquioxides. The formation of single-phase solid solutions was predicted by Calphad calculations. The melting point was determined for the (La,Sm,Dy,Er,Nd)2O3 sample as 2456 ± 12 °C, which is higher than for any of constituent oxides. An increase in melting temperature is probably related to nonideal mixing in the solid and/or the melt and prompts future investigation of the liquidus surface in Sm2O3-Dy2O3, Sm2O3-Er2O3, and Dy2O3-Er2O3 systems.
The first thermochemical analysis by room-temperature aqueous solution calorimetry of a series of zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) has been completed. The enthalpies of formation of the ...evacuated ZIFsZIF-zni, ZIF-1, ZIF-4, CoZIF-4, ZIF-7, and ZIF-8along with as-synthesized ZIF-4 (ZIF-4·DMF) and ball-milling amorphized ZIF-4 (a mZIF-4) were measured with respect to dense components: metal oxide (ZnO or CoO), the corresponding imidazole linker, and N,N dimethylformamide (DMF) in the case of ZIF-4·DMF. Enthalpies of formation of ZIFs from these components at 298 K are exothermic, but the ZIFs are metastable energetically with respect to hypothetical dense components in which zinc is bonded to nitrogen rather than oxygen. These enthalpic destabilizations increase with increasing porosity and span a narrow range from 13.0 to 27.1 kJ/mol, while the molar volumes extend from 135.9 to 248.8 cm3/mol; thus, almost doubling the molar volume results in only a modest energetic destabilization. The experimental results are supported by DFT calculations. The series of ZIFs studied tie in with previously studied MOF-5, creating a broader trend that mirrors a similar pattern by porous inorganic oxides, zeolites, zeotypes, and mesoporous silicas. These findings suggest that no immediate thermodynamic barrier precludes the further development of highly porous materials.
Because different solid materials (phases) have different surface energies, equilibria among them will be significantly affected by particle size. This Minireview summarizes experimental ...(calorimetric) data for the surface energies of oxides and discusses shifts in the stability of polymorphs, the thermodynamics of hydration, and oxidation-reduction reactions in nanoscale oxide systems.
PDF
