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Bismuth antimony telluride (Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3) is a ternary compound with good thermoelectric properties at near room temperature. In this research, Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 powders were hydrothermally synthesized at different temperatures (100, 150, 190, and 230°C) for 24 h. The deposition procedure of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thin films was done by using thermal evaporation. The phases and microstructures of powders and thin films were investigated by x-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Moreover, the size distribution of powders was investigated using a particle size analyzer. The phase and microstructural results of the different synthesized powders confirmed that the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thin film prepared by powder synthesis at 150°C for 24 h is the best choice for manufacturing with good thermoelectric properties because of its nano-sized grains and high purity. The results showed that the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thin film fabricated by powders synthesized at 150°C has a single rhombohedral phase with a good semiconductor performance. The results of thermoelectric tests confirmed that the Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 thin film fabricated using a hydrothermal method and thermal evaporation deposition approach shows a high Seebeck coefficient (183.5 μV/K) and low electronic thermal conductivity (1.32 × 10−4 W/m k−1) at 298 K. Besides, the power factor values of 0.7, 2.59 and 2.9 μW/cm K−2 were obtained at 298, 373 K and 473 K, respectively.

Herein, we explore a general Cu2-x S nanocube template-assisted and reverse cation exchange-mediated growth strategy for fabricating hollow multinary metal sulfide. Unlike the traditional cation exchange method controlled by the metal sulfide constant, the introduction of tri-n-butylphosphine (TBP) can reverse cation exchange to give a series of hollow metal sulfides. A variety of hollow multinary metal sulfide cubic nanostructures has been demonstrated while preserving anisotropic shapes to the as-synthesized templates, including binary compounds (CdS, ZnS, Ag2 S, PbS, SnS), ternary compound (CuInS2 , Znx Cd1-x S), and quaternary compound (single-atom platinum anchored Znx Cd1-x S; Znx Cd1-x S-Pt1 ). Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the hollow metal sulfide semiconductors obtained could significantly improve the separation and migration of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Owing to the efficient charge transfer, the Znx Cd1-x S-Pt1 exhibited outstanding photocatalytic performance of CO2 to CO, with the highest CO generation rate of 75.31 μmol h-1 .

Surface vacancies, serving as the activation centers for surface-adsorbed species, have been widely applied in catalysts to improve their activity and selectivity. In the case of ternary compound semiconductors, there is some controversy about exposed atoms and surface defects. Two-dimensional layered BiOCl is an important photocatalyst, which has had numerous studies focused on its oxygen vacancy (OV) and bismuth vacancy (BiV). It has been realized that its (001) surface can consist of exposed halogen atoms rather than oxygen atoms, which thus needs a new explanation for its surface defect engineering mechanism. Using first-principles calculations, the activation behavior of NOX (NO2, NO, N2O) at a chlorine vacancy (ClV) on the BiOCl (001) surface is systematically studied. It is found that after introducing ClV on BiOCl (001) surfaces, NOX molecules all show excellent activities with longer chemical bonds by capturing electrons from the catalyst. Our work furnishes fundamental insight into the activation of small molecules on defect-rich surfaces of ternary compound catalysts.

The present work includes the synthesis of zinc selenium telluride ZnSe1-xTex (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) ternary compound and its deposition in the form of thin films having thickness 200nm using thermal evaporat...

Zinc tin phosphide (ZTP) has attracted recent research interest as a low-cost light sensing material, alternative to III–V and II–III-based compounds, for photo-detector and solar cell applications. In this study, a versatile chemical route for the synthesis of ZTP nanoparticles starting from commercially available alkyl-zinc and tin, alkyl-phosphoramides and trioctylphosphine at a relatively low temperature of 160 °C is reported, which can straightforwardly be extended to other analogous II–IV-P2 group ternary compounds. The particles displayed high stability and can be deposited as layers with few monolayers of thickness. The structural and chemical analysis revealed that the particles are of sub-10 nm size with chalcopyrite structure and ZnSn-phosphide composition. The particles exhibited optical band-gap in the range of 1.65–1.75 eV and a broadband photo-response in the visible wavelengths (400–700 nm) with excellent response to red light.

Fundamental thermodynamic properties of the synthetic analog of the famatinite mineral - Cu3SbS4 were studied on the basis of electromotive force (EMF) measurements. The EMF of the concentration chains relative to the Cu electrode with a solid electrolyte was measured for the alloys from the Cu3SbS4 + Sb2S3 + S phase region at 300-380K temperature interval. Based on measurement data, the relative partial thermodynamic functions of copper in alloys, the standard thermodynamic functions of formation, as well as, the standard entropy of the Cu3SbS4 ternary compound were calculated for the first time.

Obtaining a stable Cr3+ phase at higher temperatures in the presence of hydraulic calcium aluminates (the phases found in calcium aluminate cement, CAC) in the Al2O3–CaO–Cr2O3 system remains a significant challenge in many application areas, as the formation of toxic, carcinogenic, and water-soluble Cr6+ compounds often occur. To address the issue, recently, we synthesized a high-temperature stable Cr3+ ternary compound (CaAl2Cr2O7) with space group P3 (143). In the present work, we investigated the formation-stability of CaAl2Cr2O7 with in-situ calcium aluminate phases at 1500 °C under the CO2 atmosphere in the Al2O3–CaO–Cr2O3 system through solid-oxide reactions route varying Cr2O3 content (at constant Al2O3:CaO ratio). It co-existed with hydraulic calcium aluminates and other phases over the full investigated composition range of 2.76–68.3 mol% Cr2O3 (5–80 wt%). Apart from CAC phases (CaAl2O4, CaAl4O7), major Cr3+-phases are CaAl2Cr2O7 and (Al,Cr)2O3 while (α,β)-CaCr2O4 and Ca(Al,Cr)12O19 formed as minor phases. At a constant Al2O3:CaO ratio of 5.6:4.4 mol% (7:3 wt%), the formation of the CaAl2Cr2O7 phase increases with Cr2O3 content (up to the investigated composition of 26.43 mol%) and then decreases gradually. The solid solubility of Al and Cr in the CaAl2Cr2O7 phase limited over a narrow range, and presumably dependent more on heat treatment condition rather than composition as reflected from the lattice parameter calculations. Though XRD revealed the presence of only Cr3+-phases in the partial CO2 atmosphere, however, traces of Cr6+ could be detected using XPS and leaching tests. However, leachable Cr6+ content (0.095–1.252 mg/L) were much below the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) permissible limit of 5 mg/L. The formation mechanism of the CaAl2Cr2O7 and other phases with plausible reactions were also discussed.

Both electronic and ionic conductivities are of high importance to the performance of anode materials for Li-ion batteries. Many large capacity anode materials (such as Ge) do not have sufficiently high electronic and ionic conductivities required for high-rate cycling. Here, we report a novel ternary compound, copper germanium phosphide (CuGe2P3), as a high-rate anode. Being synthesized via a facile and scalable mechanochemistry method, CuGe2P3 has a cation-disordered sphalerite structure and offers higher ionic and electronic conductivities and better tolerance to volume change during cycling than Ge, as confirmed by first principles calculations and experimental characterization, including high-resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction, HRTEM, SAED, XPS and Raman spectroscopy. Furthermore, the results suggest that CuGe2P3 has a reversible Li-storage mechanism of conversion reaction. When composited with graphite by virtue of a two-stage ball-milling process, the yolk–shell structure of the amorphous carbon-coated CuGe2P3 nanocomposite (CuGe2P3/C@Graphene) delivers a high initial coulombic efficiency (91%), a superior cycling stability (1312 mA h g−1 capacity after 600 cycles at 0.2 A g−1 and 876 mA h g−1 capacity after 1600 cycles at 2 A g−1), and an excellent rate capability (386 mA h g−1 capacity at 30 A g−1), surpassing most Ge-based anodes reported to date. Moreover, a series of cation-disordered new phases in the Cu(Zn)–Ge–P family with various cation ratios offer similar Li-storage properties, achieving high reversible capacities with high initial coulombic efficiencies and desirable redox chemistry with improved safety.

Motivated by the recent experimental discovery of high-temperature carbonaceous sulfur hydride (C–S–H), we have systematically explored the superconductivity of a carbonaceous lanthanum hydride (C–La–H) ternary compound in the pressure range of 50–250 GPa. Based on first-principles calculations and strong-coupling Migdal–Eliashberg theory, we find that a hitherto unreported LaC2H8 ternary system is dynamically and thermally stable above 70 GPa in a clathrate structure with space group Fmm and exhibits a superconducting critical temperature, Tc, in the range of 69–140 K.

Thermoelectric technologies allow the direct conversion of waste heat into electricity. A new strategy for finding promising thermoelectric materials is to study the phase diagrams of multicomponent systems. Analysis of recent investigations indicates high perceptivity of Cu 2 Se phase, due to abnormally low values of the thermal conductivity and high values of electrical conductivity. Other thermoelectric materials based on copper have attractive properties, such as: diamond-like compounds, argyrodites, oxiselenides, tetrahedron-type compounds and others. Due to this a more detailed investiation of the Cu–Sb–Se system are actually. An important step in the study of the system is the determination of quasi-binary sections by carrying out the triangulation. For this purpose, the quasi-binarity of sections in the ternary Cu–Sb–Se system at a temperature of 523 K was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Since the annealing temperature in the synthesis process is 523 K, six binary Cu 2 Se, CuSe, CuSe 2 , Cu1 .6 Sb 0.4 , Cu 2 Sb, Sb 2 Se 3 and three ternary compounds CuSbSe 2 , Cu 3 SbSe 3 , Cu 3 SbSe 4 took part in the triangulation of the system. Analysis of the early studies showed the presence of three quasi-binary sections in the Cu–Sb–Se system: Cu 2 Se – Cu 3 SbSe 3 , Cu 3 SbSe 3 – CuSbSe 2 and CuSbSe 2 – Sb 2 Se 3 , and the character of the remaining 12 sections requires experimental studies. The quasi-binary section of Cu 2 Se-Sb 2 Se 3 divides the general system of Cu-Sb-Se into two subsystems: Cu 2 Se-Sb 2 Se 3 -Se (30 intersection points) and Cu-Sb-Sb 2 Se 3 -Cu 2 Se (13 intersection points). To optimize the process of triangulation, it was decided to carry out it in stages: synthesis and study of the point in the most informative phase field with following separation and exclusion of quasi-binary and non-quasi-binary sections. Such approach makes it possible to reduce the number of syntheses and the number of used substances. Phase analysis was performed by comparing experimental and calculated from the literature powder patterns of phases present in the systems Cu 2 Se-Sb 2 Se 3 -Se and Cu-Sb-Sb 2 Se 3 -Cu 2 Se. The obtained results indicate that in the subsystem Cu 2 Se-Sb 2 Se 3 -Se has seven stable sections, all of which are based on the ternary compound Cu 3 SbSe 4 . In the Cu-Sb-Sb 2 Se 3 -Cu 2 Se subsystem, 5 quasi-binary sections are stable: three based on binary Cu 2 Se and two sections based on ternary compounds CuSbSe 2 and Cu 3 SbSe 3 .

The ternary compound Hf2B2Ir5 was assessed as an electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in 0.1 M H2SO4 . The oxidative environment restructures the studied material in the near-surface region, creating cavities in which agglomerates of IrOx(OH)y(SO4)z particles are incorporated. These in situ generated particles result from the oxidation of secondary phases in the matrix as well as from self-controlled near-surface oxidation of the ternary compound itself. The oxidation is controlled by the structural and chemical bonding features of Hf2B2Ir5. The cage-like motif, exhibiting mostly ionic interactions between positively charged Hf atoms and a covalently bonded Ir–B network, selectively controls the extent and kinetics of the transformation process induced during the operation of the electrocatalyst. The resulting self-optimized composite material, formed by a Hf2B2Ir5 matrix surrounding IrOx(OH)y(SO4)z particles, was used in the OER over 240 h at 100 mA cm-2 current density. The chemical changes, as well as the OER performance, were studied via a combination of bulk- and surface-sensitive experimental techniques as well as by employing a quantum-chemical bonding analysis.

Equilibrated alloys were characterized using SEM/EDX and XRD methods to identify the Co-Nb-Ni phase equilibria at 1100 °C and 900 °C. The isothermal section at 1100 °C was re-constructed and the partial phase relationships at 900 °C were further validated. The crystal structure of the ternary compound τ was proved to be of the Mg3Cd type with Pearson symbol hP8 and space group P63/mmc. The addition of nickel can increase the phase stability of Co7Nb2. The Co-Nb, Ni-Nb, and Co-Nb-Ni systems were assessed using the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) method. The present experimental and calculated results can be used as a reference for developing and designing Co/Ni-based intermetallics and superalloys.

The Ti-Al-Zr-O system has received significant attention as it hosts a variety of phases of industrial interest. In this paper, new experiments on the Ti-Al-Zr-O system aimed at clarifying phase formation depending on the redox conditions with special attention to the formation of ternary compounds and their results have been reported. For the first time a monophase AlTi2O5 sample with a ratio of titanium oxides TiO2:Ti2O3 = 2:1 was obtained and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of β-(ZrxTi1-x)2O4 crystals was carried out. The synthesis of the ternary Ti-Al-Zr compound was performed in an evacuated quartz ampoule and accompanied by the extraction of silicon from the ampoule. The compound has pyrochlore-type cubic structure A24+B23+O7 (Fd-3m) and the composition close to (Ti4+1,47(2)Zr0.41(2)Si0.12(1))2(Al1.15(4)Ti3+0.85(4))2O7. We believe that our study is a starting point for future research as it provides first experimental data on the ternary compound in the Ti-Al-Zr-O system.

Surface analysis conducted under ultrahigh vacuum conditions shows that the oxidation of a B‒Mo(110) alloy with a submonolayer concentration of boron atoms dramatically improves the efficiency of conversion of co-adsorbed carbon monoxide and oxygen molecules to carbon dioxide. It is established that this effect is associated with differences between the properties of the adsorbed particles before and after molybdenum boride oxidation, particularly an increase in the slope of the CO molecular axis to the plane of the adsorbent surface and the weakening of the chemisorptive bonds of oxygen with the substrate on the surface of the MoxByOz ternary compound. It is concluded that this substrate can be considered a model system and an alternative to the currently available catalysts for CO oxidation based on noble metals.

Calcium zirconium aluminate, Ca7ZrAl6O18, is only the ternary compound of CaO, Al2O3 and ZrO2 with hydration reactivity. Calcium zirconium aluminate is conventionally synthesized by a solid-state reaction processing using CaCO3, Al2O3 and ZrO2, as starting materials at temperatures exceeding 1400 °C. In the present study, Ca7ZrAl6O18 along with some admixture phases was prepared by modifying co-precipitation method using ammonia solution, NH3(aq) or saturated oxalate ammonium solution in concentrated ammonia solution, (NH4)2C2O4–NH3(aq) as a precipitation agent. Crystalline Ca7ZrAl6O18 phase was detected at relatively low temperature (~900 °C) together with other intermediate crystalline products. Formation of the final product of Ca7ZrAl6O18 powders, with CaZrO3 and Ca12Al14O33 as accessory phases, requires heat treatment at 1200 °C for 5 h. Two novel approaches for the synthesis of Ca7ZrAl6O18 affect its further hydration behaviour. Ca3 [Al(OH)6]2 or C3AH6 with a hitherto unknown rounded crystal habit was formed within the cement pastes made of Ca7ZrAl6O18, which was synthesized by the modifying co-precipitation method using (NH4)2C2O4–NH3(aq) as a precipitation agent.

The new ternary compound Y4Be33Pt16 was prepared from elements by arc melting, and its crystal structure was determined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data (space group I4[combining macron]3d, a = 13.4849(3) A). The material is the first representative of a new structure type of complex intermetallic compounds and reveals a cage-like crystal structure. Analysis of chemical bonding by means of the electron localizabilty approach indicates ionic interaction of yttrium with the rest of the crystal structure, characteristic for cage compounds, in particular for clathrates. In contrast to the mostly two-centre bonding in the framework of clathrates, the new compound is characterized by a multi-centre interaction within the framework, caused by the demand of the valence electrons in the system. The non-centrosymmetric material enters the superconducting state at TC = 0.9 K.

Pressure has become a useful parameter to prepare novel functional materials. Considering the excellent performance of ZnO and Zn3N2 and the formation of strong Zn–O, Zn–N, and N–O bonds in the known compounds, we explored potential Zn–N–O ternary compounds with interesting properties. With the aid of first-principles swarm-intelligence search calculations, we identified a hitherto unknown ZnN2O3 ternary compound with a symmetry of P21. Its remarkable feature is that N pairs interconnect the distorted Zn-centered decahedrons, in which the Zn atom forms bonds with one N and six O atoms. The compression of ZnO + NO2 + N2 might be an easy way to synthesize ZnN2O3. Electronic property calculations disclose that ZnN2O3 is a wide band gap semiconductor with a gap value of 3.48 eV, which is larger than those of ZnO and Zn3N2. Moreover, the high-pressure phase diagram of Zn–N binary compounds was explored with a wide range of chemical compositions. Two metallic N-rich zinc nitrides (e.g., ZnN2 and ZnN4) are proposed, containing intriguing N2 dimers and zigzag N chains. ZnN2 exhibits superconducting properties, and becomes the first example of superconductor in zinc nitrides. Our current results unravel the unusual stoichiometry of Zn–N–O compounds and provide further insight into the diverse electronic properties of zinc nitrides under high pressure.

This study investigated the photochemical changes of cerium oxide (CeO2) with the contribution of rare earth ions. Lanthanum (La) and Dysprosium (Dy) were added to the CeO2 crystal structure simultaneously via citric acid sol-gel synthesis. Following synthesis, the sintering temperatures were chosen as 800 and 1000 degrees C. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the doped and undoped CeO2 compounds exhibited a cubic phase. The surface morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The particle sizes varied in the range of 90-150 nm and the composite elements were observed to maintain the stoichiometric ratio. Compound impurity control was performed using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Lattice changes in the compounds were revealed via Raman spectroscopy, which indicated that the La and Dy had caused changes in the CeO2 symmetry. The photocatalytic behavior of the compounds was investigated using methylene blue degradation. Optical band gaps were calculated and the La and Dy were found to have narrow band spacing. The band gap of the Ce0.85La0.10Dy0.05O2 compound sintered at 1000 degrees C was 1.63 eV, the rate constant was 9.4 * 10(-3) min(,)(-1) and the degradation efficiency at 100 min was calculated as 60 %. The photoluminescence spectra exhibited four bands centered at 435, 532, 565, and 610 nm. The emission band at 565 nm was attributed to the transition from the F-4(9/2) to the (6)H(13/2)state, whereas the emission bands peaking at 435 nm, 532 nm, and 610 nm can be explained by the intrinsic luminescence of the host lattice.

Due to the resource shortage of indium, the application of 10 wt%- tin doped indium oxide (10 wt%- ITO) with 74.4 wt% of indium is restricted in the field of flat panel display. A new ternary compound TCO material with 53.8 wt% of indium (35 wt%- ITO) was prepared by In2O3-35 wt% SnO2 powders, whose microstructure and properties were studied in comparison to 10 wt%- ITO. The research findings show that: (1) The phase composition of 35 wt%- ITO target is mainly In4Sn3O12 and In2SnO5, without In2O3: Sn phase for 10 wt%- ITO; (2) When films possess the strong crystalline structure, the photoelectric properties of 35 wt%- ITO films are superior to 10 wt%- ITO. In addition, the crystalline structure of 35 wt%- ITO films could be changed from In4Sn3O12 + amorphous to In4Sn3O12 + In2O3 by annealing, but for 10 wt%- ITO, only the crystallinity is changed.

In this study, we present a quantitative analysis of the electrical properties of a series of bottom- gate top-contact n-channel transparent thin film transistors (TFTs) based on zinc indium tin oxide (Zn-In-SnO) ternary compound with various ZnO content. In addition, the effect of annealing on the TFTs electrical properties was examined theoretically and experimentally. The obtained results revealed that the thermal annealing of fabricated devices in air atmosphere at 300 °C has enhanced their performances; this behavior is well observed for all devices fabricated with different composition of Zn-In-SnO. TFTs having the lowest Zn content of 17.1% and annealed 300°C showed the high electrical performances in term of drain current, saturation mobility, threshold voltage. For the total resistance modeling of the fabricated devices with various content of ZnO and that annealed 300 °C, grain boundary model based on Meyer–Neldel rule was applied. The obtained results revealed that the total resistance was increased with increasing ZnO content. Furthermore, an analytical model has been refined in order to reproduce the current-voltage relationships of the fabricated TFTs using the overall resistance obtained from the NMR–GBT model. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements of all fabricated devices. The obtained performance of TFTs based on zinc indium tin oxide with low content of ZnO and annealed will be promising for application in the future backplane of flat panel displays.

The influences of Nb-containing oxides and ternary compound in hydrogen sorption performance were investigated. As faster desorption kinetic and lower activation energy were reported by addition of a ternary compound catalyst such as K2NiF6, the influence of KNbO3 on hydrogen storage properties of MgH2 has been investigated for the first time. The MgH2 - KNbO3 composite desorbed 3.9 wt% of hydrogen within 10 min, while MgH2 and MgH2-Nb₂O₅ composites desorbed 0.66 wt% and 3.2 wt% respectively under similar condition. For MgH2 with other Nb-contained catalysts such as Nb, NbO and Nb₂O3, the desorption rate was almost the same as the one registered for as-milled MgH2. The analysis of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that MgH2-KNbO3 composite started to release hydrogen at ∼335 °C which is 50 °C lower compared to as-milled MgH2 without any additives. The activation energy for the hydrogen desorption was estimated to be about 104 ± 6.8 kJ mol−1 for this material, while for the as-milled MgH2 was about 165 ± 2.0 kJ mol−1. It is believed that Nb-ternary oxide catalyst (KNbO3) showed a good catalytic effect and enhance the sorption kinetics of MgH2.

The fission product strontium (Sr), after generation in the reactor due to fission of 233U, might exist as SrF2 in the molten fluoride medium of molten salt reactor (MSR) using fluoride carrier salts. The high temperature interactions between the strontium fluoride (SrF2) with the fertile fuel component and thorium fluoride (ThF4) leads to form single ternary compound SrThF6(s). The Gibbs energy of formation is the driving force for formation of any compound. In the present study, standard molar Gibbs energy of formation SrThF6(s) has been determined using an e.m.f. technique using CaF2(s) as solid electrolyte. Using the experimental thermodynamic data, to study the stability domain of SrThF6(s), the chemical potential diagram of Sr-Th-F-O system and ternary phase diagram of Sr-Th-F2 system have been calculated.

The isothermal section of the Gd-Ni-In system at T = 870 K was constructed by means of X-ray powder diffraction and EDX analyses. Thirteen ternary compounds, namely GdNi9In2 (YNi9In2 type), Gd1−1.22Ni4In1-0.78 (MgCu4Sn type), GdNiIn2 (MgCuAl2 type), Gd4Ni11In20 (U4Ni11Ga20 type), GdNi1.0-0.7In1.0-1.3 (ZrNiAl type), Gd2Ni2In (Mn2AlB2 type), Gd2Ni1.78In (Mo2FeB2 type), Gd11Ni4In9 (Nd11Pd4In9 type), Gd12Ni6In (Sm12Ni6In type), Gd6Ni2.39In0.61 (Ho6Co2Ga type), Gd14Ni3.29In2.71 (Lu14Co3In3 type), Gd3Ni0.05In0.95 (AuCu3 type) and ~Gd6Ni2In exist in the Gd-Ni-In system at this temperature. The substitution of Ni for In was observed for GdNi1.0-0.7In1.0-1.3 and of In for Gd for Gd1-1.22Ni4In1-0.78. Besides, Gd can enter the structure of NiIn (CoSn type) leading to a solid solution Gd0-0.14NiIn1-0.98.

The paper presents the results of the study of the phase composition of hypereutectic silumin Al – 16.0 at. % Si – 0.2 at. % Fe. A comparative analysis of the phase composition of samples obtained at an average melt cooling rate of 102 K/s and at an ultra-high melt cooling rate of 105 K /s was carried out. At an average rate, the samples solidified in a graphite mold, and the ultra-high melt cooling rate was provided during the production of foils by the method of ultrafast quenching from the melt. It was established by X-ray diffraction and micro X-ray spectral analysis that the rapidly solidified foils consist of an aluminum-based solid solution supersaturated by silicon, dispersed silicon particles and the AlFeSi2 ternary compound phase. Comparative analysis of the results of X-ray diffraction and X-ray spectral studies of samples obtained at different melt cooling rates indicate that, during rapid solidification, the aluminum-based supersaturated solid solution contains up to 2 at. % Si.

Actinide nitrides possessing the advantages of high burn-up, superior thermophysical properties and easy reprocessing in nitric acid, are currently considered as promising fuels for advanced nuclear reactors. In this work, a systemic study on the stability, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of (Pu, Zr)N was conducted employing the first-principles density functional theory approaches. We found that the ternary compound (Pu, Zr)N tends to exist in the form of single cubic NaCl-type solid solution, confirmed by incorporation and solution energies of Zr in PuN crystals. The calculated elastic constants of the (Pu, Zr)N crystals satisfy the stability criteria of tetragonal structures, proving their mechanical stability. It is revealed that the elastic constants and mechanical properties such as mechanic moduli and Poisson's ratio monotonically change with the concentration of Zr in (Pu, Zr)N crystals. Additionally, the specific heat also changes monotonically with the concentration of Zr derived from phonon-dispersion spectrums. The obtained results can shed light on the understanding of plutonium nitride materials in the nuclear energy cycles.

The isothermal section at 800°C of the phase diagram of the ternary system Sc–Cu–Al was constructed in the whole concentration range using X-ray powder diffraction data. The existence of eight ternary compounds was confirmed: ScCu4.9‑6.0Al7.1‑6.0 (structure type ThMn12, Pearson symbol tI26, space group I4/mmm), Sc6Cu24.1Al11.9 (own structure type, cI176, Im-3), Sc2Cu6.25Al4.75 (own structure type, oS108, Cmmm), Sc3Cu7.5Al7.5 (Sc3Ni11Ge4, hP38, P63/mmc), ScCu2Al (MnCu2Al, cF16, Fm-3m), ScCu0.8Al0.2 (CsCl, cP2, Pm-3m), ScCu0.6Al1.4 (MgNi2, hP24, P63/mmc), and ScCuAl (MgZn2, hP12, P63/mmc), and the existence of a continuous solid solution ScCu1-xAlx (x = 0-1), based on the binary compounds ScCu and ScAl with CsCl-type structure (cP2, Pm-3m), was established. The investigation of the Ti–Cu–Al system at 800°C confirmed the existence of four ternary compounds: TiCu0.25Al2.75 (ZrAl3, tI16, I4/mmm), TiCu0.3-0.6Al2.7-2.4 (Cu3Au, cP4, Pm-3m), TiCu2-2.7Al1-0.3 (MnCu2Al, cF16, Fm-3m), and TiCu0.54-1.16All.46-0.84 (MgZn2, hP12, P63/mmc). Electrical resistivity measurements were performed for three compounds in the Sc–Cu–Al system and confirmed metal behavior in the temperature range 5-290 K.

The phase equilibria in the ternary systems {Ce, Gd}–{Ti, Zr}–Sb were investigated by means of X-ray powder diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The isothermal sections of the phase diagrams at 600°C were constructed. The formation of three ternary compounds (Ce2Ti7Sb12, Ce3TiSb5, and Gd2Ti11Sb14) was confirmed in the {Ce, Gd}–Ti–Sb systems and no more ternaries were found. The investigation of the {Ce, Gd}–Zr–Sb systems revealed several new ternary compounds and confirmed the known ones. The crystal structure of the new compound Ce0.08(3)Zr1.92(3)Sb was determined from X-ray powder diffraction data. The other new compounds in the Ce–Zr–Sb system were found to have compositions close to ~CeZrSb4and ~Ce2Zr3Sb5. In the Gd–Zr–Sb system the existence of a large homogeneity range was established for the GdZrSb compound along the isoconcentrate 33.3 at.% Sb: Gd1-xZr1+xSb (x= 00.905(18) at 600°C), and a new compound, ~Gd3Zr3Sb14, was discovered. The crystal structures at the boundary compositions of the Gd1-xZr1+xSb phase were refined from X-ray powder diffraction data.

The crystal structure of the new ternary aluminide Sc1.33Pd3Al8was refined by the Rietveld method from X-ray powder diffraction data. It crystallizes with a Gd1.33Pt3Al8-type structure:hR51-14.00,R-3m,a= 4.29142(4),c= 38.1638(4) Å,RB= 0.0344. The main feature of the structure is the statistical distribution of Sc atoms and Al3triangles within atomic layers of composition Sc2Al3(Sc0.67Al within the translation unit here), which is likely to correspond to stacking disorder of ordered layers. During the final cycles of the refinement, the occupancies of the corresponding sites were fixed at occ. = 2/3 for Sc in Wyckoff position 6cand occ. = 1/3 for Al in 18h. The unit cell of Sc1.33Pd3Al8contains six Sc0.67Al layers, nine Pd and eighteen Al atom layers along the crystallographic direction [001]. Together with the structure types Tb0.67PdAl3, Y2Co3Ga9, Sc0.67Fe2Si5, Er4Pt9Al24, Yb0.67Ni2Al6, and ErNi3Al9, the structure type Gd1.33Pt3Al8forms a family of intergrowth structures built up of three kinds of similar monoatomic layer.

In this paper, we report results on the processing of cadmium zinc sulfide (CdxZn1-xS) ternary compound starting from the deposition of cadmium sulfide (CdS)/zinc sulfide (ZnS) bi-layers buffer configuration and a subsequent thermal annealing for its application to thin film solar cells. The impact of different CdS/ZnS bi-layers buffer configurations as effective alternative to the single CdS buffer layer, as well as the physical and chemical properties of the equivalent CdxZn1-xS ternary compound are presented and discussed. Results on physical properties optimization of CdxZn1-xS ternary compound for future applications to thin film solar cells are presented.

Under the first-principles framework, this paper used the CASTEP program to theoretically calculate TiN, TiC, and its intermediate compounds and therefore obtain a theoretical basis for their application. In this paper, the N atoms in the NaCl-type unit cell of TiN were replaced, and the atoms of TiN1-xCx (x = 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) were constructed by replacing N with C atoms. The unit cell structure of the ternary compound TiN1-xCx (x = 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75) was constructed by replacing N with C atoms. In a subsequent step, these compounds were geometrically optimized and their properties were calculated. These compounds were subsequently subjected to geometric optimization to calculate their properties. By analyzing the electronic structure of the materials, it was found that TiN1-xCx exhibited metallic properties. In addition, this paper focused on the optical properties of TiN1-xCx ternary compounds under different compositions including absorption, reflectivity, refractive index, and photoconductivity. The accuracy and reliability of the theoretical results presented herein were confirmed by comparing current theoretical results with existing experimental or theoretical results.

The development of efficient non-noble bifunctional electrocatalysts for the overall water splitting is a pressing and challenging task. In this work, we report a sea urchin-like cobalt phosphosulfide (CoPS) ternary compound for overall water splitting. Because CoPS contains more than one nonmetallic element, ternary compounds possess dianions might lead to modulated electronic structure and thus modified their electrocatalytic properties. Our DFT calculation results reveal that the ternary CoPS exhibits favorable performance for both the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction. Experimentally set as cathode and anode in a full cell for overall water splitting, the CoPS cell needs a voltage of only ∼1.59 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and has outstanding stability. Our results open up a path to search for alternative bifunctional electrocatalyst materials to substitute for noble metals in overall water splitting.

The toxicity of the organic dyes presents in the environment due to polluted discharge from industries is a real dilemma in the world. Here, the problem was addressed with the synthesis of new quaternary mineral cupric antimony oxychloride (CAO) during the study of Cu–Sb–O–Cl system in absence of solvents. The morphological analysis showed that synthesized matrix is rough and uneven with round and cylindrical shapes. The composition of nanomaterial verified the elemental composition as Cu, Sb and Cl. The XRD analysis revealed that synthesized product CAO is crystalline in nature where crystallite size was estimated in the range of 2–8 nm. The bond vibrations were studied through Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy to confirm the symmetric and asymmetric vibrations in the matrix. The material parameters (grain size, dislocation line density, stresses and miller indices) of the synthesized material CAO were calculated using powder X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis was performed to study the decomposition behaviour and stability of the CAO. The copper ternary compound was used to mitigate the effect of organic dyes like Sunset yellow (26%), Methylene blue (23%), Brilliant green (20%), Methyl orange (14%) in the dyes polluted wastewater.

Intermetallic compound (IMC) layers growth in the interconnections of solar modules is inevitable once the solar modules are in use. Higher temperatures (warmer climates) may accelerate the growth of these compounds, leading to faster degradation of the solar modules. In this paper, the effect of Platinum (Pt) additions on the interfacial reaction, contact resistivity and power output of solar module have been investigated. The changes in IMC morphology was studied using the scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The contact resistivities of solder joints were measured using the transfer length method. Solar modules with varying amounts of Pt additions were constructed and their power outputs under natural sunlight were compared to the reference solar module constructed with a commercial Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu (SAC305) solder. Experimental results showed that minute Pt additions effectively suppressed the IMC growth during isothermal aging at 150°C for up to 500 hours. This was reflected in the reduced contact resistivities ranging between 20->60% when 0.10wt.%-0.50wt.% of Pt were added to the SAC solder. In trend with the reduced resistivities, the solar modules containing Pt recorded higher power outputs and lower degradation rate under natural sunlight exposure. Pt is believed to dissolve and form an ternary compound, (Cu,Pt)6Sn5 which is less susceptible to decompose into the more detrimental Cu3Sn IMC layer, thus slowing down the overall degradation of the solar panels.

Carbon nanotube – highly reduced graphene oxide – transition metal oxide (ZnO) nanohybrid layers were synthesized using a one-step laser technique. Commercial multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene oxide (GO) platelets and ZnO nanoparticles were used as starting materials. We discuss the influence of carbon/metal oxide ratio on the physico-chemical properties of the nanohybrid layers, geometrical characteristics, shape and dimensions of constituent nanoentities, chemical composition and chemical bonding states, optical properties, UV–visible absorption, band gap values, as well as charge transfer properties. In the followings the relation between these properties and functional characteristics, removal of water contaminants, antibiotic molecules, and charge storage performances of the ternary, MWCNTs/reduced GO/ZnO layers are presented, identifying the optimum relative concentrations of the constituting nanomaterials. The high photocatalytic efficiencies both under UV and visible light irradiations, even after several consecutive degradation cycles, were attributed to effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers by carbon nanomaterials as well as formation of oxygen deficient ZnOx−1 nanocrystals. The enhanced charge storage capacity of ternary nanohybrid electrodes is based on combined electrochemical double layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance implying redox reactions on the surface and subsurface of the layers in contact with the electrolyte. Both functional properties are strongly influenced by the relative concentrations of the nanomaterials constituting the ternary layers., The authors thank the financial support of the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research under the contract PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0550, the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness under the projects ENE2017-89210-C2-1-R, AEI/FEDER,EU. ICMAB acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D (SEV-2015-0496).

We have synthesized single crystal of layered ternary compound having composition TaIrTe4 using tellurium flux method. Herein, we report experimental study of magneto-transport properties on Weyl semimetal TaIrTe4 in the temperature regime 2.5K to 300K. TaIrTe4 show the linear magneto-resistance 4.1 % at 3.5K in a magnetic field of 6 T. The residual resistivity ration (RRR) is around 2.4. HR-TEM and SEAD patterns reveal the formation of single crystal TaIrTe4.

BGaAs/GaAs epilayers and BInGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW) have been prepared using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition under different growth conditions, and their physical and structural properties have been examined. SEM-EDS investigation showed a dependence of surface properties of the ternary compound on the growth conditions. High-resolution X-ray diffraction evidenced a tensile strain for the ternary alloys whatever the growth condition, while the quaternary QW always shows a compressive strain state. Room temperature optical absorption allowed to follow the variation of the bandgap with boron incorporation. Photoluminescence measurements confirmed the carrier-localization phenomenon and its dependence with the growth conditions. Deposition temperature and diborane (B2H6) flow rate are with particularly significant effects on the optical properties: lower diborane flow rate and high growth temperature enhance the radiative emission. Computer simulation using localized state ensemble model quantitatively relates the lattice inhomogeneity to the optical properties and suggests a way to engineer the localization phenomenon and avoid clustering effects. Electrical investigations by current-voltage, capacitance and conductance methods have been performed for the first time on selected BGaAs samples. The ideality factor of Schottky barriers has been determined, while their height and film doping level could only be approximately estimated. Such physical properties make boron-based alloys very promising for applications in multijunction solar cells.

A ternary compound of magnesium diniobate (MgNb2O6) was prepared by solid–state reactions in order to understand the role of transition metal oxides as a promoter/catalyst for hydrogen storage in Mg/MgH2 systems. MgNb2O6 was prepared in almost pure form in oxidizing conditions by annealing a stoichiometric mixture of MgO and Nb2O5. The effect of calcination temperatures on phase formation, reaction kinetics, and heat of reaction of the solid–state product was investigated by ex situ, in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Hydrogen sorption properties of the compound were investigated by mass spectrometer. The crystallographic parameters of binary and ternary Mg–Nb–O phases were extracted by Rietveld method. During solid–state synthesis, the formation of MgNb2O6 provides single-step reaction between precursor materials proved by in situ experiment and the heat of formation as well as driving force was calculated from calorimetric analysis.

The main environmental problems associated with water body pollution are typically those caused by the discharge of untreated effluents released by various industries. Wastewater from the textile dye industry is itself a large contributor and contains a huge number of complex components, a wide spectrum of organic pollutants with high concentration of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/chemical oxygen demand (COD) and other toxic elements. One of several potential techniques to degrade such reactive dyes before being discharged to water bodies is photocatalysis, and bismuth-based photocatalysts are rapidly gaining popularity in this direction. Bismuth oxyhalides, BiOX (X=Cl, Br, I, F), as a group of ternary compound semiconductors (V-VI-VII), have been explored extensively for their photocatalytic activity due to their unique crystal lattice with special layered structure in pure as well as modified form. With suitable band gap and band edge positions, which are a required condition for efficient water breakup and high photon absorption, BiOCl scores over other oxyhalides. Photocatalytic activity depends on many factors such as synthesis method, morphology, size, illumination type, dye choice among others. This paper gives a critical review on bismuth oxyhalides as a family on various aspects of modifications such as doping (with unique and interesting metals as well), morphology and synthesis parameters, polymer and carbon assisted composites in order to further enhance the photocatalytic efficiency in UV/visible region of solar spectrum.

Elongated micro-heterostructures formed by ZnO and TiO2 have been fabricated using a single step thermal treatment at 900 °C. ZnO, Ti and TiN powders have been used as precursors during the synthesis. The as-grown micro-heterostructures have been characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and cathodoluminescence (CL). Compositional analysis indicates that the ZnO microrods grow from a rutile-TiO2 base. The presence of a ternary compound Zn2TiO4 has been detected at the region between the Zn doped TiO2 base and the Ti doped ZnO microrod, as confirmed by XRD and EDS results. Luminescence of the heterostructures is formed by two main emissions at 3.2 and 1.5 eV, which correspond to the ZnO and the TiO2 regions, respectively.

Oxide formation on surface of nitrogen-rich uranium nitride film/particles was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), auger electron spectroscopy (AES), aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) coupled with electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). XPS and AES studies indicated that the oxidized layer on UN2-x film is ternary compound uranium oxynitride (UNxOy) in 5–10 nm thickness. TEM/HAADF-STEM and EELS studies revealed the UNxOy crystallizes in the FCC CaF2-type structure with the lattice parameter close to the CaF2-type UN2-x matrix. The work can provide further information to the oxidation mechanism of uranium nitride.

A new ternary compound Al5NdNi2 was prepared by melting a stoichiometric mixture of aluminum, neodymium, and nickel in an arc furnace and annealing in vacuum. The crystal structure of Al5NdNi2 was studied by X-ray powder diffraction technique and Rietveld analysis. All diffraction lines of Al5NdNi2 were indexed, and the lattice parameters were refined with an orthorhombic structure type of space group Immm (No.71) using Rietveld analysis program DBWS-9807. The lattice parameters are presented, a = 7.0508(1) Å, b = 9.5690(1) Å, c = 3.9792(1) Å, V = 268.47 Å3, Z = 2, ρ = 4.91 g cm−3, and RIR = 1.23.

International audience; The generation of hydrogen from both the new NdNiMg15 ternary compound and the 1Nd - 1Ni - 15Mg mixtures (using NdH2.6 or NdCl3 as Nd precursors) by hydrolysis reaction were investigated. The Nd-Ni-Mg mixtures were prepared by ball milling process (for 1, 3 and 5 h) and the hydrolysis reaction was carried out in a 3.5 wt % NaCl solution (i.e. seawater). Independently of the composition, Nd-Ni-Mg mixtures show better hydrolysis performance compared with NdNiMg15 compound. The best hydrolysis performances were achieved with the mixtures 1NdH2.6 - 1Ni - 15Mg + 15 wt % NaCl and 1NdCl3 - 1Ni - 15Mg mixtures milled for 3 h. A 100% of theoretical hydrogen yield was obtained in 3 and 4 min respectively. The presence of chloride salts such as NaCl or NdCl3 during ball milling improves significantly the hydrolysis performance due to its ball milling and electrolyte properties. The activation energies of best mixtures, with and without adding salts (NdH2.6-Ni-15Mg (1 h BM) and NdH2.6-Ni-15Mg + 15 wt % NaCl (3 h BM)), were calculated using Avramie Erofeev model. A lower activation energy (24 kJ/mol < 31 kJ/mol) was found for NdH2.6-Ni-15Mg + 15 wt % NaCl (3 h BM) mixture, which demonstrates the beneficial effect of adding NaCl during ball milling.

Conducting polymer polypyrrole is promising material for electronic devices and sensor applications. To enhance its properties ternary compound Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (CAO) Nano powder in different weight percent were added. In presence of oxidizing agent ammonium persulphate CAO/polypyrrole Nano-composites were synthesized by in-situ chemical polymerization method. Synthesized Nano-composites were characterized by FTIR. The FTIR spectra shows the presence of all characteristics absorption peaks of polypyrrole that match well with the ones available in the literatureconfirming the formation of Polypyrrole.Impedance study was carried out for all Nano-composites by precision impedance analyzer in the frequency range 100 Hz to 5 MHz and at different temperatures. Impedance was almost constant over all frequencies for all composites whichreveal resistive part dominates in the impedance and composites shows less impedance as compared to pure polypyrrole.

Recently, the ternary compound, CuSbS2, has been attracting a lot of interest in developing sustainable photovoltaic energy conversion because of its use as an absorber layer material due to the low toxicity, cost and abundance of constituents in nature. However, the recent conversion efficiencies reported for copper antimony sulfide (CAS) thin-film photovoltaics is still about 3%. Consequently, this research work is geared toward optimising the absorber layer material using numerical modelling and simulation to enhance the device performance. The simulation of the baseline model was achieved using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D). Results of the simulation showed good agreement with experimental results. Subsequently, a step by step optimisation was done on the absorber layer. The optimisation process includes the variation of the acceptor concentration at various thicknesses, followed by the electron affinity and the back-contact metal work function. Results showed that the optimal carrier concentration of CuSbS2 is 1 × 10 17 c m − 3 at a thickness of 2.6 μm. The electron affinity of 4.15 eV was obtained as the optimum value of the absorber. Also, it suggests that the back contact electrode optimal work function is 5.0 eV, which corresponds to that of Molybdenum. A combination of these optimisations doubled the recent experimentally obtained photo-conversion efficiency with a value of 7.42%.

This paper presents results of an investigation of the features of phase and structure formation of a ternary compound during thermal sintering use of compacted TiH2-Al-C powder blends. The thermal sintering was carried out in vacuum furnace at temperature 1150, 1300 and 1400 0С. The x-ray diffraction pattern and structural analysis show that the main phase after synthesis at 1150 0С is titanium carbide. The ternary Ti2AlC and intermetallic Ti3Al compound were also identified in the phase composition of the alloy. Increasing the sintering temperature to 1300 °C leads to significant increases the content of Ti2AlC ternary compounds and accordingly decrease the content of titanium carbide TiC. After synthesis at 1400 ° C, the base phase of the alloy becomes the Ti3AlC2.ternary compound. Is propose a modified model thermal synthesis of ternary compounds of the Ti-Al-C system, which includes the melting of aluminum and its interaction with titanium at low-temperature stages of the process, formation of the Ti3Al intermetallic compound, formation titanium carbide grains as a result of interaction of the Al4C3 intermediate metastable phase with titanium or Ti3Al intermetallic compound and the synthesis of ternary Ti2AlC and Ti3AlC2 compounds as a result of interaction of the Ti3Al intermetallic compound with carbon and Ti2AlC with titanium carbide TiC. Key words: MAX-phase, titanium, aluminum, powder, thermal synthesis, structure, intermetallic compound, carbide, X-ray phase analysis.

High theoretical capacity of metal phosphides makes them promising candidates for anode application in sodium ion batteries. In this work, we report a ternary compound phosphide—copper tin phosphide (Cu 4 SnP 10 ) nanowires for sodium ion battery anode applications. The introduction of Cu helps to stabilize a rather high P content in the compound (as compared to Sn 4 P 3 , for example), enabling a high capacity of 811 mA h g −1 at a current density of 25 mA g −1 for phase pure Cn 4 SnP 10 nanowire anode. Cu incorporation is also found to effectively alleviate Sn aggregation in the anode during charge/discharge cycles, which is known as a major contributor to the faded cycle performance of Sn-P compound. On the other hand, we show that possible volume expansion and instability of the solid electrolyte interface in the Cn 4 SnP 10 nanowire anode remain as problems causing cycle instability of the electrode. By forming composite with multiwall carbon nanotubes, we demonstrate significantly improved cycle performance of the composite anode, which delivers a stable capacity of 512 mA h g −1 after 100th cycle at a current density of 100 mA g −1 . At higher current density of 1 A g −1 , the capacity of the composite electrode retains at 412 mA h g −1 , showing its good rate performance.

Owing to their high extinction coefficient and moderate band gap, cadmium chalcogenides are known as common semiconductors for photoelectric conversion. Nevertheless, no ideal cadmium chalcogenide with proper band structure is available yet for photoelectrochemical hydrogen evolution. In this work, we modified the band structure of CdTe via alloying with Se to achieve a ternary compound (CdSe0.8Te0.2) with n-type conduction, a narrower band gap, and a more negative band position compared to those of CdSe and CdTe. This novel material exhibits strong light absorption over a wider spectrum range and generates more vigorous electrons for hydrogen reduction. As a result, a photoelectrode based on nanoflake arrays of the new material could achieve a photocurrent density 2 times that of its CdSe counterpart, outperforming similar materials previously reported in the literature. Moreover, the quick transfer of holes achieved in the novel material was found to depress photocorrosion processes, which led to improv...

The ternary compound CuV2S4 exhibits an excellent performance as anode material for sodium ion batteries with a high reversible capacity of 580 mAh g–1 at 0.7 A g–1 after 300 cycles. A Coulombic efficiency of ≈99% is achieved after the third cycle. Increase of the C-rate leads to a drop of the capacity, but a full recovery is observed after switching back to the initial C-rate. In the early stages of Na uptake first Cu+ is reduced and expelled from the electrode as nanocrystalline metallic Cu. An increase of the Na content leads to a full conversion of the material with nanocrystalline Cu particles and elemental V embedded in a Na2S matrix. The formation of Na2S is evidenced by 23Na MAS NMR spectra and X-ray powder diffraction. During the charge process the nanocrystalline Cu particles are retained, but no crystalline materials are formed. At later stages of cycling the reaction mechanism changes which is accompanied by the formation of copper(I) sulfide. The presence of nanocrystalline metallic Cu and/or...

A novel ternary compound, UMo3B7, has been synthesized by arc melting and annealing at 900 °C. Its crystal structure was determined from X-ray single crystal diffraction data (YMo3B7-type structure, space group Pnma; a = 1.10310(8) nm, b = 0.30995(2) nm, c = 1.2792(1) nm, RF2 = 0.0205). The structure is composed of boron filled trigonal prisms as well as unfilled tetrahedra and tetragonal pyramids formed by metal atoms. With respect to boron atoms aggregation, it exhibits a well-developed two-dimensional boron network revealing infinite bands of edge linked boron hexagons. The relationship with the members of the structural series within the V-B system: VnBn+1 = (n-1)VB (CrB-type) + VB2 (AlB2-type) (n = 1, 2, 3, 5) is discussed. Specific heat, magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity measurements characterize UMo3B7 as a spin fluctuating system.

Using a high-temperature ampoule technique, a series of mixed nickel-iron-gallium metal-rich tellurides with layered structures, Ni3-xFexGaTe2, were prepared and characterized based on X-ray powder diffraction, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy data. These compounds may be regarded as a result of partial substitution of nickel by iron in the recently reported ternary Ni3-xGaTe2 series, which are based on NiAs/Ni2In type of structure. The compositional boundary for the substitution was found to be at x~1. According to the Mossbauer spectroscopy data, the substitution is not statistical, and iron atoms with the increase in x tend to preferentially occupy those nickel positions that are partially vacant in the initial ternary compound. Magnetic measurements data for the Ni3-xFexGaTe2 series show dramatic change in behavior from temperature-independent paramagnetic properties of the initial matrix to a low-temperature (~75 K) ferromagnetic ordering in the Ni2FeGaTe2.