Vol 62, No 9 (2017)

The synthesis of hydrolytically active heteroligand complexes of the composition [M(O₂C₅H₇)x(ⁱOC₅H₁₁)_y] (M = Fe³⁺ and Y³⁺) using iron and yttrium acetylacetonates was studied. Their reactivity was shown to be dependent on the degree of shielding of iron and yttrium cations in hydrolysis and polycondensation during the formation of a connected dispersion system. The crystallization temperature of iron yttrium garnet Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ upon heating xerogel was determined. It was found that the dispersity, microstructure, and magnetic characteristics of the products depend on the synthesis conditions.

The crystal and local structures of the complex oxides (1–x)ZrO₂ ∙ xY₂O₃ (YSZ) (x = 0.08–0.40) prepared by precipitation from solutions of metal salts followed by heat treatment in air were comprehensively studied by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Despite the same crystal structure type of the YSZ powders (cubic system, space group \(Fm\overline 3 m\) (225)), there are differences in the local structure of the samples. Comparison of the Raman spectra recorded at different laser excitation wavelengths provided the conclusion that the peaks observed in the Raman spectra of the YSZ samples with high yttrium content (x = 0.18–0.40) are likely to be due to luminescence of the powders.

Composites comprising micrometer-sized carbon fibers (CFs) and biocompatible nanocrystalline calcium hydroxyapatite Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂ (HA, NCHA), containing 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 wt % CFs, have been synthesized in the course of precipitation from aqueous solutions in the Ca(OH)₂–H₃PO₄–CF–H₂O system. Some physicochemical characteristics of the precursor CFs and synthesis products have been determined using chemical, X-ray diffraction, and thermal analyses, IR spectroscopy, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. An analysis of composition–synthesis conditions–structure–particle size–property correlations indicates that the presence of CFs in HA/CF composites strongly decreases the sizes and modifies the habit of NCHA. A rise of CF content in the HA/CF composite is accompanied by a decrease in particle size and a rise in solubility of NCHA.

The search for compounds with the formula composition KBaR(BO₃)₂ has been performed by solid-phase synthesis and differential thermal analysis. The compounds synthesized in this series are KBaPr(BO₃)₂ and KBaNd(BO₃)₂, which are isostructural to KBaY(BO₃)₂, are isotypical to butschliite K₂Ca(CO₃)₂, and crystallize in a trigonal system with space group R3m. The structural characteristics of compounds calculated for the entire series of REEs are given.

The quantum-chemical modeling of the delithiation-induced reorganization of a Li_mSi_n layer applied to the surface of nitrogen-doped silicon carbide is performed by means of non-empirical molecular dynamics in the frame of the gradient-corrected density functional method with the goal for finding promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The ratios Li/Si are considered from 8/3 to 1/4. Partial removal of lithium atoms from the surface of the Li_mSi_n layer and annealing at a moderate temperature (400 K) is found to recover rapidly (as soon as within 10 ps) the uniform metal distribution over the layer when the ratio Li/Si is at least 3/4. At lower values of this ratio, the equalization slows down dramatically.

New cluster complexes of lanthanides(III) and nickel(II) [Ln{Ni(Gly)₂}₆]³⁺[Ln(NO₃)₆]^3– have been synthesized, where Ln = La (I), Ce (II), and Pr (III); and Gly is glycinate. The structures of compounds I–III are determined by X-ray diffraction. The icosahedral cavity in the complex cation, where the lanthanide ion resides, has a fixed size independent of the nature of the central Ln(III) ion. In the complex anion, on the contrary, the Ln–O distances naturally decrease from La(III) to Pr(III). The optical properties of cationanion complexes I–III are studied. Based on the assignment in the electronic absorption spectra of the complexes, it is shown that the absorption bands are caused by d–d electronic transitions.

Natural clay samples and calcined clay varieties treated with hydrochloric acid of various strengths were characterized by X-ray diffraction, positron annihilation spectroscopy, and IR spectroscopy. The specific surfaces and pore sizes were determined by nitrogen adsorption. The constituent phases of the clay were found to be nontronite, muscovite, quartz, and hematite; after calcination, quartz, muscovite, hematite, and an amorphous phase remained in the samples. The Brilliant Green adsorption properties and tribotechnical properties of the modified clays were studied. The natural clay was surface-modified chemically by means of consecutive exposure to 36.5% hydrochloric acid and an alkaline hydrolyzate of rice hulls. Calcination at 700°С destroyed the amorphous phase to a greater extent; exposure to acid provided a greater recovery of aluminum and iron ions from the surface of calcined samples. Native clay composites with an alkaline hydrolyzate of rice hulls were shown to have enhanced tribotechnical characteristics.

In view of the contradictoriness of the literature data, phase equilibria in the Ag–Ge–Se system were restudied by differential thermal analysis and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. A number of polythermal sections and an isothermal section at room temperature of the phase diagram were constructed, and so was the projection of the liquidus surface. The primary crystallization fields of phases and the types and coordinates of in- and monovariant equilibria were determined. It was shown that, in the system, a single ternary compound, Ag₈GeSe₆, forms, which undergoes congruent melting at 1175 K and a polymorphic transformation at 321 K. The formation of the compounds Ag₂GeSe₃ and Ag₈GeSe₅, which was previously reported in the literature, was not confirmed. Based on the phase diagrams of boundary binary systems and the results of the differential thermal analysis of a number of samples of the ternary system, equations were obtained for calculation and 3D modeling of the liquidus and phase-separation surfaces.

Phase equilibria in the MgS–In₂S₃ system were studied. This system is of the dystectic type with a limited region of a solid solution based on β-In₂S₃. In the MgS–In₂S₃ system, a compound of the composition MgIn₂S₄ forms, which forms congruently at 1180 K and crystallizes in the cubic system (space group Fd3m) with the unit cell parameter a = 1.0689 nm. Eutectics have the compositions 47 and 62 mol % In₂S₃ and the melting points 1150 and 1120 K, respectively. The MgS solubility in β-In₂S₃ at 1070 K reaches 9 mol % MgS.

Interfacial distribution of micro amount of ReO₄^- between aqueous solutions of mineral acids and solutions of 2-phosphorylphenoxyacetamides in dichloroethane has been studied. Stoichiometry of extracted complexes has been determined; the effect of HNO₃, HCl, and H₂SO₄ concentration in aqueous phase, extractant structure, and organic solvent nature on the efficiency of ReO₄^- ions transfer into organic phase has been considered. It has been shown that Re(VII) can be selectively recovered and concentrated with complexing sorbent obtained by the noncovalent binding of 2-[2-(diphenylphosphoryl)-4-ethylphenoxy]-N,N-dioctylacetamide on the surface of macroporous polymer Amberlite XAD7HP.

The effect of salt structure on the ability to salt out oxyphos B from aqueous solutions is elucidated using the solubility data in pseudo-ternary inorganic salt–potassium bis(alkylpolyoxyethylene)phosphate (oxyphos B)–water systems in the temperature range of 20–90°С. The results are interpreted according to the Samoilov’s theory of salting-out.