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In the last decade, the field of oxide-ion and proton conductors continued to trigger a significant amount of basic research aimed at improving the properties and the comprehension of actual materials, as well as at discovering novel phases.

Thin films of BaZr1-xScxO3-x/2, (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.64), well known as proton conducting solid electrolytes for intermediatetemperature solid oxide fuel cell, were deposited by magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction analysis of theas deposited films reveals the presence of single-phase perovskite structure. The films were deposited on fourdifferent substrates (c-Al2O3, LaAlO3〈100〉, LaAlO3〈110〉, LaAlO3〈111〉) yielding random, (110)- or (100)-orientedfilms. The stability of the as-deposited films was assessed by annealing in air at 600 ◦C for 2 h. Theannealing treatment revealed instabilities of the perovskite structure for the (110) and randomly oriented films,but not for (100) oriented film. The instability of the coating under heat treatment was attributed to the lowoxygen content in the film (understoichiometry) prior annealing combined with the surface energy and atomiclayers stacking along the growth direction. An understoichiometric (100) oriented perovskite films showedhigher stability of the structure under an annealing in air at 600 ◦C. Funding agencies: Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009 00971), the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation through the Wallenberg Academy Fellows program (KAW-2020.0196), and the Swedish Energy Agency through Grant No. 48712-1 (E.N., M.K., P. E., A. l. F) and 43606-1 (G.K.N., M.M.). M.M. also acknowledges financial support from the Carl Trygger Foundation (CTS20:272, CTS16:303, CTS14:310)

Superionic phases of bulk anhydrous salts based on large cluster-like polyhedral (carba)borate anions are generally stable only well above room temperature, rendering them unsuitable as solid-state electrolytes in energy-storage devices that typically operate at close to room temperature. To unlock their technological potential, strategies are needed to stabilize these superionic properties down to subambient temperatures. One such strategy involves altering the bulk properties by confinement within nanoporous insulators. In the current study, the unique structural and ion dynamical properties of an exemplary salt, NaCB11H12, nanodispersed within porous, high-surface-area silica via salt-solution infiltration were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction, neutron vibrational spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, quasielastic neutron scattering, and impedance spectroscopy. Combined results hint at the formation of a nanoconfined phase that is reminiscent of the high-temperature superionic phase of bulk NaCB11H12, with dynamically disordered CB11H12-anions exhibiting liquid-like reorientational mobilities. However, in contrast to this high-temperature bulk phase, the nanoconfined NaCB11H12 phase with rotationally fluid anions persists down to cryogenic temperatures. Moreover, the high anion mobilities promoted fast-cation diffusion, yielding Na+ superionic conductivities of similar to 0.3 mS/cm at room temperature, with higher values likely attainable via future optimization. It is expected that this successful strategy for conductivity enhancement could be applied as well to other related polyhedral (carba)borate-based salts. Thus, these results present a new route to effectively utilize these types of superionic salts as solid-state electrolytes in future battery applications.

Perovskite-type oxyhydrides are hydride-ion-conducting materials of promise for several types of technological applications; however, the conductivity is often too low for practical use and, on a fundamental level, the mechanism of hydride-ion diffusion remains unclear. Here, we, with the use of neutron scattering techniques, investigate the diffusional dynamics of hydride ions in the layered perovskite-type oxyhydride SrVO2H. By monitoring the intensity of the elastically scattered neutrons upon heating the sample from 100 to 430 K, we establish an onset temperature for diffusional hydride-ion dynamics at about 250 K. Above this temperature, the hydride ions are shown to exhibit two-dimensional diffusion restricted to the hydride-ion sublattice of SrVO2H and that occurs as a series of jumps of a hydride ion to a neighboring hydride-ion vacancy, with an enhanced rate for backward jumps due to correlation effects. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the neutron scattering data shows that the localized jumps of hydride ions are featured by a mean residence time of the order of 10 ps with an activation energy of 0.1 eV. The long-range diffusion of hydride ions occurs on the timescale of 1 ns and with an activation energy of 0.2 eV. The hydride-ion diffusion coefficient is found to be of the order of 1 × 10-6 cm2 s-1 in the temperature range of 300-430 K, which is similar to other oxyhydrides but higher than for proton-conducting perovskite analogues. Tuning of the hydride-ion vacancy concentration in SrVO2H thus represents a promising gateway to improve the ionic conductivity of this already highly hydride-ion-conducting material.

The structure and reorientational dynamics of KB3H8 were studied by using quasielastic and inelastic neutron scattering, Raman spectroscopy, first-principles calculations, differential scanning calorimetry, and in situ synchrotron radiation powder X-ray diffraction. The results reveal the existence of a previously unknown polymorph in between the alpha'- and beta-polymorphs. Furthermore, it was found that the [B3H8](-) anion undergoes different reorientational motions in the three polymorphs alpha, alpha', and beta. In alpha-KB3H8, the [B3H8](-) anion performs 3-fold rotations in the plane created by the three boron atoms, which changes to a 2-fold rotation around the C-2 symmetry axis of the [B3H8](-) anion upon transitioning to alpha'-KB3H8. After transitioning to beta-KB3H8, the [B3H8](-) anion performs 4-fold rotations in the plane created by the three boron atoms, which indicates that the local structure of beta-KB3H8 deviates from the global cubic NaCl-type structure. The results also indicate that the high reorientational mobility of the [B3H8](-) anion facilitates the K+ cation conductivity, since the 2-orders-of-magnitude increase in the anion reorientational mobility observed between 297 and 311 K coincides with a large increase in K+ conductivity.

A new supermirror guide has been proposed to replace the current neutron guide of the indirect time-of-flight near-backscattering spectrometer OSIRIS at the ISIS facility. Here we present an extensive Monte Carlo simulation study for the design and optimisation of a new guide system. Among the several guide geometry assessed, a curved guide with elliptical defocusing and focusing sections is shown to perform best. The estimated gain in intensity is a factor of 5–6 at the sample position with a homogeneous distribution of the divergence. The elliptic geometry results in a smaller beam spot and smaller samples will particularly benefit from this upgrade. The proposed guide replacement will ensure that the OSIRIS spectrometer will remain competitive in the years to come.

The proton local coordination environments and vibrational dynamics associated with the two order of magnitude change in proton conductivity in hydrated forms of hexagonal and cubic structured BaTi1–xScxO3Hx (0.16 < x < 0.7) were investigated using optical spectroscopy, neutron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. Whereas the cubic structure compositions display a single proton site, we show that protons occupy three distinct sites in compositions exhibiting the hexagonal structure. The principal site is characterized by interoctahedral hydrogen bonds, while two additional low occupancy sites are similar to those in the cubic structure, with classic intraoctahedral geometry. Furthermore, the proton hydrogen bond strength increases with decreasing scandium doping level. We infer from this that the stronger, more energetic hydrogen bonds in the hexagonal structure, resulting from proton sites with lower symmetry (lower multiplicity), are predominantly responsible for the significant reduction in macroscopic conductivity between cubic and hexagonal BaTi1–xScxO3Hx materials, rather than simply the absolute number of protons. Our findings are highly relevant to the field, clarifying the advantages of high-symmetry structures with high-multiplicity proton sites to favorable properties in ceramic proton-conducting oxides.

The all-inorganic perovskite barium zirconate, BaZrO3, is a widely used material in a range of different technological applications. However, fundamental questions surrounding the crystal structure of BaZrO3, especially in regard to its ground-state structure, remain. While diffraction techniques indicate a cubic structure all the way down to T = 0 K, several first-principles phonon calculation studies based on density functional theory indicate an imaginary (unstable) phonon mode due to the appearance of an antiferrodistortive transition associated with rigid rotations of ZrO6 octahedra. The first-principles calculations are highly sensitive to the choice of exchange-correlation functional and, using six well-established functional approximations, we show that a correct description about the ground-state structure of BaZrO3 requires the use of hybrid functionals. The ground-state structure of BaZrO3 is found to be cubic, which is corroborated by experimental results obtained from neutron powder diffraction, inelastic neutron scattering, and neutron Compton scattering experiments.

Perovskite-type oxyhydrides, BaTiO3−xHx, represent a novel class of hydride ion conducting materials of interest for several electrochemical applications, but fundamental questions surrounding the defect chemistry and hydride ion transport mechanism remain unclear. Here we report results from powder X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and density functional theory (DFT) simulations on three metal hydride reduced BaTiO3 samples characterized by the simultaneous presence of hydride ions and oxygen vacancies. The INS spectra are characterized by two predominating bands at around 114 (ω⊥) and 128 (ω∥) meV, assigned as fundamental Ti–H vibrational modes perpendicular and parallel to the Ti–H–Ti bond direction, respectively, and four additional, weaker, bands at around 99 (ω1), 110 (ω2), 137 (ω3) and 145 (ω4) meV that originate from a range of different local structures associated with different configurations of the hydride ions and oxygen vacancies in the materials. Crucially, the combined analyses of INS and DFT data confirm the presence of both nearest and next-nearest neighbouring oxygen vacancies to the hydride ions. This supports previous findings from quasielastic neutron scattering experiments, that the hydride ion transport is governed by jump diffusion dynamics between neighbouring and next-nearest neighbouring hydride ion–oxygen vacancy local structures. Furthermore, the investigation of the momentum transfer dependence of the INS spectrum is used to derive the mean square displacement of the hydride ions, which is shown to be in excellent agreement with the calculations. Analysis of the mean square displacement confirms that the hydrogen vibrational motions are localized in nature and only very weakly affected by the dynamics of the surrounding perovskite structure. This insight motivates efforts to identify alternative host lattices that allow for a less localization of the hydride ions as a route to higher hydride ion conductivities.

Acceptor-doped barium zirconate-based proton conductors are currently receiving considerable attention because of their promise as electrolytes in future electrochemical devices, such as solid oxide fuel cells, but the defect chemistry, especially in regard to the local coordination environment and dynamics of protons in these materials, is unclear. Here, we investigate the local coordination environments and vibrational dynamics of protons in samples of the proton conducting material BaZr1-xMxO3Hx with M = In and Sc, and x = 0.1 and 0.5, using inelastic neutron scattering (INS), infrared (IR), and Raman spectroscopy together with ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations. The local coordination of protons is shown to exhibit a rather peculiar dependence on the type and concentration of dopant atoms, as they are found to be similar for BaZr1-xScxO3Hx with x = 0.1 and 0.5 and BaZr1-xInxO3Hx with x = 0.1, whereas for BaZr1-xInxO3Hx with x = 0.5 additional proton sites seem to be present. It is argued that these additional proton sites are characterized by local structural arrangements reminiscent of the fully In-substituted material BaInO3H. The presence of these local structural arrangements points toward different local proton mobilities between BaZr1-xInxO3Hx with x = 0.5 and the other three materials and a higher rate of proton transfer events in brownrnillerite-type local structures.

The molecular orientation distribution of polymeric fibers influences physical properties. We present a novel method of analyzing polarized Raman experiments to determine molecular orientation, which is based on exchanging the Legendre polynomial approach with a wrapped Lorentzian function, as determined from a prescreening of X-ray scattering patterns. This method removes the need for performing right angle scattering experiments while avoiding common approximations. The molecular orientation of regenerated cellulose fibers, using the presented method, is shown to correlate well with X-ray scattering and an analogous experiment using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Challenges of quantitatively measuring molecular anisotropy occur with semi-crystalline, partially modified, or composite materials. As such, a plethora of techniques, each with a unique chemical selectivity, is paramount for material characterization.

The environmental and economic benefits of phosphor-converted white-light-emitting diodes (pc-WLEDs) have been increasingly appreciated in recent years. However, a significant challenge in this fie...

The vibrational dynamics of pure and methylammonium-doped formamidinium lead iodide perovskites (FAPbI3) has been investigated by high-resolution neutron spectroscopy. For the first time, we provide an exhaustive and accurate analysis of the cation vibrations and underlying local structure around the organic moiety in these materials using first-principles electronic-structure calculations validated by the neutron data. Inelastic neutron scattering experiments on FAPbI3 provide direct evidence of the formation of a low-temperature orientational glass, unveiling the physicochemical origin of phase metastability in the tetragonal structure. Further analysis of these data provides a suitable starting point to explore and understand the stabilization of the perovskite framework via doping with small amounts of organic cations. In particular, we find that the hydrogen-bonding interactions around the formamidinium cations are strengthened as a result of cage deformation. This synergistic effect across perovskite cages is accompanied by a concomitant weakening of the methylammonium interactions with the surrounding framework., K.D. and F.F.A. gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia under grant no. 2020-CIEN-000009-01. This work has been supported by PL-Grid Infrastructure and the PROMETHEUS facility. M.K. is grateful for financial support from the Swedish Research Council (2016-06258).

We use signal enhancement in a quantum resonator for the characterization of a thin layer of vanadium hydride using neutron reflectometry and demonstrate that pressure-concentration isotherms and expansion coefficients can be extracted from the measurement of totally externally reflected neutrons only. Moreover, a consistent data analysis of the attenuation cross section allows us to detect and quantify off-specular and small angle scattering. As our experiments are effective direct beam measurements, combined with resonant signal enhancement, counting times become considerably reduced. This allows us to overcome the challenges resulting from the comparatively low brilliance of neutron beams for grazing incidence scattering experiments. Further, we discuss the potential of resonant enhancement to increase any scattering, which is of particular interest for grazing incidence small angle neutron scattering and spectroscopy.

The reorientational dynamics of ammonium borohydride (${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}{\mathrm{BH}}_{4}$) was studied using quasielastic neutron scattering in the temperature interval from 10 to 240 K, which covers both the dynamically ordered and disordered polymorphs of ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}{\mathrm{BH}}_{4}$. In the low-temperature $(l50\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K})$ ordered polymorph of ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}{\mathrm{BH}}_{4}$, analysis of the quasielastic neutron scattering data reveals that no reorientational dynamics is present within the probed timescale region of 0.1 to 100 ps. In the high-temperature $(g50\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K})$ disordered polymorph, the analysis establishes the onset of ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{BH}}_{4}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ dynamics at around 50 and 125 K, respectively. The relaxation time at 150 K for ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ is approximately 1 ps, while around 100 ps for ${\mathrm{BH}}_{4}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. The ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ dynamics at temperatures below 125 K is associated with preferential tetrahedral tumbling motions, where each of the hydrogen atoms in the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ tetrahedron can visit any of the four hydrogen sites, however, reorientations around a specific axis are more frequently occurring (${C}_{2}$ or ${C}_{3}$). At higher temperatures, the analysis does not exclude a possible evolution of the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ dynamics from tetrahedral tumbling to either cubic tumbling, where the hydrogen atoms can visit any of the eight positions corresponding to the corners of a cube, or isotropic rotational diffusion, where the hydrogen atoms can visit any location on the surface of a sphere. The ${\mathrm{BH}}_{4}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ dynamics can be described as cubic tumbling. The difference in reorientational dynamics between the two ions is related to the difference of the local environment where the dynamically much slower ${\mathrm{BH}}_{4}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ anion imposes a noncubic environment on the ${\mathrm{NH}}_{4}^{+}$ cation.

We report results from visible and UV Raman spectroscopy studies of the phonon spectra of a polycrystalline sample of the prototypical perovskite type oxide BaZrO

A critical challenge in the field of phosphor converted white light emitting diodes (pc-WLEDs) pertains to understanding and controlling the variation of emission color with device temperature. Here we, through a combined photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy study of the three garnet type phosphors Ce3+-doped Y3Al5O12 (YAG:Ce3+), Ca3Sc2Si3O12 (CSS:Ce3+), and Sr3Y2Ge3O12 (SYG:Ce3+), show that the color of the PL is systematically shifted upon changing the operation temperature of the phosphor. A general trend is observed that the PL exhibits a red-shift as a function of increasing temperature, until the point at which the vibrational modes of the CeO8 moieties, which induce dynamical tetragonal distortions of the CeO8 dodecahedra, are fully activated. Upon further temperature increase, the PL turns to a blue-shift because of a counteracting and predominating effect of thermal lattice expansion that progressively makes the CeO8 dodecahedra more cubal like. Since this behavior is the result of the symmetry relations intrinsic to the garnet structure, the present mechanism can be generally applicable to materials of this type. It thereby provides a route for tuning the PL of this important class of phosphor materials.

Barium zirconate (BaZrO3), when substituted with trivalent acceptor ions to replace Zr4+, is a proton conducting material of interest for several electrochemical applications. The local coordination environments, and vibrational dynamics, of the protons are known to critically influence the material's proton conducting properties, however, the nature of the static and dynamic structure around the protons and, especially, how it is affected by the dopant atoms for high doping concentrations, remains to be elucidated. Here we report results from X-ray powder diffraction, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations on a hydrated sample of BaZrO3 substituted with 50% In3+. The investigation of the momentum-transfer (Q) dependence of the INS spectrum is used to aid the analysis of the spectra and the assignment of the spectral components to fundamental O–H bend and O–H stretch modes and higher-order transitions. The AIMD simulations show that the INS spectrum is constituted of the overlapping spectra of protons in several different local structural environments, whereas the local proton environments for specific protons are found to vary with time as a result of thermally activated vibrations of the perovskite lattice. It is argued that, converse to more weakly doped systems, such as 20% Y-doped BaZrO3, the dopant–proton association effect does not hinder the diffusion of protons due to the presence of percolation paths of dopant atoms throughout the perovskite lattice.

The oxyhydride phase of barium titanate, BaTiO3−xHx, is a mixed hydride ion and electron conductor. The substitution of oxygen with hydrogen to form a hydride ion is accompanied by donation of an electron to the initially empty titanium 3d conduction band. It is not clear, however, whether the electron forms a delocalized state where it is shared among all titanium ions forming a bandstate, or if it localizes on a titanium ion and forms a bound electron polaron. Here, we investigate polaron formation in this material using density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, where the self-interaction error has been corrected by the DFT + U method and the HSE hybrid functional. While calculated formation energies do not provide a conclusive description of the electronic state, a comparison of the results from first-principles phonon calculations with vibrational spectra measured with inelastic neutron scattering (INS) suggests that the electrons form bandstates in bulk BaTiO3−xHx. This is further supported by comparison of the computed chemical expansion of the involved defect species with experimental data of the lattice expansion in the oxyhydride formation. The oxyhydride phase of barium titanate, BaTiO3−xHx, should thus exhibit metallic-like conductivity.

We study the local structure and vibrational dynamics of the brownmillerite-based proton conductors Ba2In2O5(H2O)x, with x = 0.30, 0.76, and 0.92, using infrared spectroscopy, inelastic neutron scattering and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. Ba2In2O5(H2O)x is found to exhibit two main types of proton sites, H(1) and H(2). The H(1) site is characterised by the coexistence of two intra-octahedral hydrogen-bond geometries, whereas the H(2) site is characterised by inter-octahedral hydrogen bonding. While the strength of the hydrogen bonding is similar for the majority of protons in the two proton sites, ≈10% of the H(2) protons forms unusually strong hydrogen bonds due to local proton environments characterised by an unusually short oxygen–oxygen separation distance of ≈2.6 A. These local proton environments are manifested as two O–H stretch bands in the infrared absorbance spectra, at 255 and 290 meV, respectively. These O–H stretch bands are as well observed in the related class of In-doped perovskite-type oxides, BaInyZr1−yO3−y/2 (0.25 ≤ y ≤ 0.75), suggesting that these perovskites may display brownmillerite-like distortions on a local length scale. In effect, these results point towards a clustering of the In atoms in these perovskite materials. Further, the infrared spectra of Ba2In2O5(H2O)x show a minor evolution as a function of x, because the protons tend to segregate into oxygen-rich hydrogen-rich domains upon dehydration. This points towards a highly anisotropic proton conduction mechanism in partially hydrated phases. This insight motivates efforts to identify ways to avoid phase separation, perhaps by suitable cation substitutions, as a route to accommodate high proton conductivity.

Perovskite-type oxyhydrides, BaTiO3–xHx, have been recently shown to exhibit hydride-ion (H–) conductivity at elevated temperatures, but the underlying mechanism of hydride-ion conduction and how it depends on temperature and oxygen vacancy concentration remains unclear. Here, we investigate, through the use of quasielastic neutron scattering techniques, the nature of the hydride-ion dynamics in three metal hydride-reduced BaTiO3 samples that are characterized by the simultaneous presence of hydride ions and oxygen vacancies. Measurements of elastic fixed window scans upon heating reveal the presence of quasielastic scattering due to hydride-ion dynamics for temperatures above ca. 200 K. Analyses of quasielastic spectra measured at low (225 and 250 K) and high (400–700 K) temperature show that the dynamics can be adequately described by established models of jump diffusion. At low temperature, ≤250 K, all of the models feature a characteristic jump distance of about 2.8 A, thus of the order of the distanc...

We report results from neutron diffraction with polarization analysis of the effect of In dopant level on the hydrogen concentration in hydrated samples of the proton conducting perovskite type oxide BaZr1−xInxO3−x/2with x = 0, 0.175, 0.20, 0.225, 0.25, and 0.275. Analysis of the neutron data establishes a trend of increasing hydrogen concentration, which is comparable to that obtained from thermogravimetric measurements on the same samples, as well as an increased unit-cell size and local structural disorder as a function of increasing In dopant level. These results encourage further use of neutron diffraction with polarization analysis as a non-destructive technique for the determination of the total hydrogen concentration, and structural properties, of proton conducting oxides as well as other hydrogen-containing materials.

We report results from high-resolution neutron backscattering experiments on hydrated samples of the proton conducting perovskite BaZr1−xMxO3−x/2 with M = Sc and Y for x = 0.1, and M = In for x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.25. The sampled wave vector range of up to 1.9 Å−1 and energy resolution of less than 1 μeV allowed the identification of a jump diffusion process of protons in the samples. By monitoring the intensity of elastically scattered neutrons S(Q, ℏω = 0) upon heating the samples from base temperature 2 K up to about 550 K the onset temperature Tc of the diffusive process was established. Thereby characteristic dependences of Tc on the type of dopant atom M and on the dopant level x were found with Tc increasing along the sequence of x from less than 200 K in M = Sc, Y and In with x = 0.1 up to about 320 K in M = In with x = 0.25. The formfactor of the diffusive process was examined on one hand by monitoring the intensity of neutrons scattered inelastically with a fixed energy of 2 μeV as S(Q, ℏω = 2 μeV), and on the other, by monitoring the dynamic structure factor S(Q, ℏω) within the dynamic range of ±25 μeV. We have successfully approximated the data by established models of jump diffusion with a preference for the Chudley–Elliot model [C. T. Chudley, R. J. Elliot, Proc. Phys. Soc., 77, 353, (1961)]. Any of the applied models featured a characteristic jump distance of about 3 Å. Diffusion constants D and activation energies Ea were computed from temperature scans of the moderately In-doped compounds (x = 0.1 and 0.2). D takes on values within the range 1–5 × 10−7 cm2 s−1 at the highest applied T of about 550 K and Ea increases from about 40 to 120 meV along the sequence of x.

Acceptor-doped barium zirconates are currently receiving considerable interest because of their high proton conductivity at intermediate temperatures, making them applicable as electrolytes in various electrochemical devices, but the mechanism of proton conduction is unclear. Here, we investigate the role of the acceptor-dopant level in the localized proton motions, i.e. proton transfers between oxygens and O-H reorientations, in hydrated samples of the proton conducting, acceptor-doped, perovskites BaZr1-xInxO3-x/2 with x = 0.10 and 0.20, using quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS). Analysis of the QENS spectra reveals that several proton transfer and O-H reorientational motions contribute to the QENS signal, as a consequence of the locally disordered nature of the structure due to the In doping of these materials, and establishes a generic and complex picture of localized proton dynamics in acceptor-doped barium zirconate based proton conductors. A comparison of the QENS results with vibrational spectroscopy data of the same materials, as reported in the literature, suggests a predominance of O-H reorientational motions in the observed dynamics. The highest doping level corresponds to a more distorted structure and faster dynamics, which thus indicates that some degree of structural disorder is favourable for high local proton mobility.

The evolution of local structure, coordination of protons, and proton conductivity in yttrium-doped barium zirconate, BaZr1-xYxO3-delta (x = 0-0.5), has been investigated using thermal-gravimetric analysis, impedance spectroscopy, and infrared spectroscopy. Low-frequency (50-1000 cm(-1)) infrared absorbance spectra provide evidence of increasing local structural distortions as a function of yttrium concentration as well as subtle differences, mainly linked to the oxygen sublattice, between the dry and hydrated samples. High-frequency (1700-4500 cm(-1)) spectra of the hydrated samples, distinguished by a broad O-H stretch continuum, manifest a varying degree of hydrogen bond interactions between the protons and nearest neighbor oxygens due to the disordered crystal structure with a general weakening in. particular of the strongest hydrogen bonding interactions with increasing dopant levels. It is argued that compositions within the range 0.15

Acceptor-doped barium zirconates are currently accumulating considerable interest because of their high proton conductivity, especially in the intermediate-temperature range targeted for next-generation solid oxide fuel cells, combined with their excellent chemical stability. However, fundamental questions surrounding the proton conduction mechanism in these materials remain, for instance, regarding the nature of localized proton motions and how they depend on the local structural properties of the material. Here we investigate the nature of localized proton motions in the two acceptor-doped proton-conducting perovskites BaZr0.9M0.1O2.95 with M = Y and Sc, using quasielastic neutron scattering. We show the presence of pronounced localized proton dynamics, with mean residence periods on the time-scale of 1–30 ps and an activation energy of ∼100 meV for both materials. In view of first-principles calculations as reported elsewhere the experimentally established dynamics could comprise footprints from proton...

The structural and vibrational properties of ammonium borohydride, NH4BH4, have been examined by first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations and inelastic neutron scattering (INS). The H disordered crystal structure of NH4BH4 is composed of the tetrahedral complex ions NH4+ and BH4-, which are arranged as in the fcc NaCl structure and linked by intermolecular dihydrogen bonding. Upon cooling, the INS spectra revealed a structural transition between 45 and 40 K. The reversible transition occurs upon heating between 46 and 49 K. In the low-temperature form reorientational dynamics are frozen. The libration modes for BH4- and NH4+ are near 300 and 200 cm(-1), respectively. Upon entering the fcc high-temperature form, NH4+ ions attain fast reorientational dynamics, as indicated in the disappearance of the NH4+ libration band, whereas BH4- ions become significantly mobile only at temperatures above 100 K. The vibrational behavior of BH4- ions in NH4BH4 compares well to the heavier alkali metal borohydrides, NaBH4-CsBH4. DFT calculations revealed a nondirectional nature of the dihydrogen bonding in NH4BH4 with only weak tendency for long-range order. Different rotational configurations of complex ions appear quasi-degenerate, which is reminiscent of glasses. Funding Agencies|Nordforsk within the project FunHy; Swedish research council (VR)Swedish Research Council; Carl Tryggers Stiftelse (CTS) for Vetenskaplig Forskning; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]

The hydrogen storage materials ASiH(3) (A=K and Rb) represent complex metal hydrides built from metal cations and pyramidal SiH3- ions. At room temperature, SiH3- moieties are randomly oriented because of dynamical disorder (-modifications). At temperatures below 200K, ASiH(3) exist as ordered low-temperature () modifications. The vibrational properties of -ASiH(3) were characterized by a combination of Raman spectroscopy and inelastic neutron scattering. Internal modes of SiH3- are observed in the spectral range 1800-1900cm(-1) (stretching modes) and 890-1000cm(-1) (bending modes). External modes are observed below 500cm(-1). Specifically, SiH3- librations are between 300-450cm(-1) and 270-400cm(-1) for A=K and Rb, respectively, SiH3- translations are between 95 and 160cm(-1), K+ translations are in the range 60-100cm(-1) and Rb+ translations in the range 50-70cm(-1). The red-shift of libration modes for A=Rb is associated with a 15-30% reduction of the libration force constants of SiH3- ions in -RbSiH3. This correlates with a lower temperature for the - order-disorder phase transition (278 vs 298K). Libration modes become significantly anharmonic with increasing temperature but are maintained up to at least 200K. The vibrational properties of ASiH(3) compare well to those of alkali metal borohydrides ABH(4) (A=Na-Cs).

The two alkali silanides ASiH3 (A = K and Rb) were investigated by means of quasielastic neutron scattering, both below and above the order–disorder phase transition occurring at around 275–300 K. Measurements upon heating show that there is a large change in the dynamics on going through the phase transition, whereas measurements upon cooling reveal a strong hysteresis due to undercooling of the disordered phase. The results show that the dynamics is associated with rotational diffusion of SiH3– anions, adequately modeled by H-jumps among 24 different jump locations radially distributed around the Si atom. The average relaxation time between successive jumps is of the order of subpicoseconds and exhibits a weak temperature dependence with a small difference in activation energy between the two materials, 39(1) meV for KSiH3 and 33(1) meV for RbSiH3. The pronounced SiH3– dynamics explains the high entropy observed in the disordered phase resulting in the low entropy variation for hydrogen absorption/desor...

We report results from visible and UV Raman spectroscopy studies of the phonon spectra of a polycrystalline sample of the prototypical perovskite type oxide BaZrO3 and a 500 nm thick film of its Y-doped, proton conducting, counterpart BaZr0.8Y0.2O2.9. Analysis of the Raman spectra measured using different excitation energies (between 3.44 eV and 5.17 eV) reveals the activation of strong resonance Raman effects involving all lattice vibrational modes. Specifically, two characteristic energies were identified for BaZrO3, one around 5 eV and one at higher energy, respectively, and one for BaZr0.8Y0.2O2.9, above 5 eV. Apart from the large difference in spectral intensity between the non-resonant and resonant conditions, the spectra are overall similar to each other, suggesting that the vibrational spectra of the perovskites are stable when investigated using an UV laser as excitation source. These results encourage further use of UV Raman spectroscopy as a novel approach for the study of lattice vibrational dynamics and local structure in proton conducting perovskites, and open up for, e.g., time-resolved experiments on thin films targeted at understanding the role of lattice vibrations in proton transport in these kinds of materials.

The structure and dehydration mechanism of the proton conducting oxide Ba2In2O5(H2O)(x) are investigated by means of variable temperature (20-600 degrees C) Raman spectroscopy together with thermal gravimetric analysis and inelastic neutron scattering. At room temperature, Ba2In2O5(H2O)(x) is found to be fully hydrated (x = 1) and to have a perovskite-like structure, which dehydrates gradually with increasing temperature and at around 600 degrees C the material is essentially dehydrated (x approximate to 0.2). The dehydrated material exhibits a brownmillerite structure, which is featured by alternating layers of InO6 octahedra and InO4 tetrahedra. The transition from a perovskite-like to a brownmillerite-like structure upon increasing temperature occurs through the formation of an intermediate phase at ca. 370 degrees C, corresponding to a hydration degree of approximately 50%. The structure of the intermediate phase is similar to the structure of the dehydrated material, but with the difference that it exhibits a non-centrosymmetric distortion of the InO6 octahedra that is not present in the dehydrated material. The dehydration process upon heating is a two-stage mechanism; for temperatures below the hydrated-to-intermediate phase transition, dehydration is characterized by a homogenous release of protons over the entire oxide lattice, whereas above the transition a preferential desorption of protons originating in the nominally tetrahedral layers is observed. Furthermore, our spectroscopic results point towards the co-existence of two structural phases, which relate to the two lowest-energy proton configurations in the material. The relative contributions of the two proton configurations depend on how the sample is hydrated.

The mixed glass former systems 0.35Na(2)O + 0.65[xB(2)O(3) + (1 - x)P2O5] and 0.5Na(2)O + 0.5[xB(2)O(3) + (1 - x)P2O5] with x = 0-1 were investigated with neutron diffraction (ND) together with reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling of 0.35Na(2)O + 0.65[xB(2)O(3) + (1 - x)P2O5]. The results show that the structure of both systems is reflected by an intermediate-range ordering, with a characteristic x-dependent length scale of about 4-6 angstrom and which contracts slightly with the increase of the Na concentration. Results obtained from RMC modeling of the 0.35Na(2)O + 0.65[xB(2)O(3) + (1 - x)P2O5] system, using both previously reported X-ray diffraction (XRD) data as well as the here obtained ND data as independent constraints in the modeling, show that the intermediate-range structural features, notably the Na coordination and volume fraction of the conducting pathways, are only weakly dependent on the choice of the constraints used. In particular, we observe that the volume fraction of the conducting pathways and the activation energy for ionic conduction are only weakly correlated to each other, as opposed to what is found for binary alkali borate and phosphate glasses.

The proton-conducting hydrated alkali thio-hydroxogermanate's MxGeSx(OH)(4) - x center dot yH(2)O (M = Na and K; x = 1 - 4,y approximate to 0.5 - 2) were investigated by means of neutron diffraction with the aim to elucidate how the structure changes as a function of alkali-ion concentration, x, type of alkali ion, M, and water content, y. For x = 1 - 3 we find that the materials are amorphous and composed of thio-hydroxogermanate anions, water molecules, and charge balancing alkali ions, whereas for x = 4 we find that the materials contain also a crystalline phase, suggesting that it is difficult to prepare purely amorphous materials for the highest alkali-ion concentration, for both the Na and K based materials. For x = 1 - 3, the structure is reflected by an intermediate-range ordering, with a characteristic length-scale ranging from approximately 6 to 9 angstrom, which is dependent on both x and M and which may be related to the separation distance between dimers of thio-hydroxogermanate anions. As x increases, the intermediate-range ordering shortens, possibly as the result of an increasing level of hydration water that may act as a dielectric medium that reduces the repulsive interaction between the negatively charged thio-hydroxogermanate anions and/or between the positively charged alkali ions. A comparison of the structural results to the reported conductivities of the same materials indicates a non-trivial relationship, which depends on both the type and concentration of alkali ions, as well as on the level of hydration water.

The oxide garnet Y3Al5O12 (YAG), when a few percent of the activator ions Ce3+ substitutes for Y3+, is a luminescent material widely used in phosphor-converted white lighting. However, fundamental questions surrounding the defect chemistry and luminescent performance of this material remain, especially in regard to the nature and role of vibrational dynamics. Here, we provide a complete phonon assignment of YAG and establish the general spectral trends upon variation of the Ce3+ dopant concentration and temperature, which are shown to correlate with the macroscopic luminescence properties of Y3–xCexAl5O12. Increasing the Ce3+ concentration and/or temperature leads to a red-shift of the emitted light, as a result of increased crystal-field splitting due to a larger tetragonal distortion of the CeO8 moieties. Decreasing the Ce3+ concentration or cosubstitution of smaller and/or lighter atoms on the Y sites creates the potential to suppress thermal quenching of luminescence because the frequencies of phonon ...

Calcium scandate (CaSc 2 O 4 ), when substituted with a small amount of the activator ion Ce 3+ to replace Ca 2+ , is a recently discovered green-emitting phosphor promising for solid-state lighting applications. The co-doping with aliovalent ions to compensate for the net positive charge, as induced by the Ce 3+ dopants, is a common approach to change the defect structure and tune the performance of the phosphor, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we investigate the effect of co-doping with charge-compensating Mg 2+ to substitute for Sc 3+ , using photoluminescence and thermoluminescence techniques. In comparison to the defect structure in Ce 3+ doped CaSc 2 O 4 , the co-doping with charge-compensating Mg 2+ leads to the formation of new traps. These traps are featured by activation energies in the range 0.58–0.64 eV, can be emptied at room temperature and show green long-lasting phosphorescence after excitation at 454, 340, and 254 nm, respectively. Analysis of the spectroscopic results in terms of a vacuum referred binding energy diagram allows us to reach at a plausible luminescence mechanism in {Ce 3+ /Ce 3+ Mg 2+ }-doped CaSc 2 O 4 .

We report results of the luminescence properties of the three garnet type phosphors Ce3+-doped Ca3Sc2Si3O12 (CSSO:Ce3+), Sr3Y2Ge3O12 (SYG:Ce3+) and Y3Al5O12 (YAG:Ce3+), investigated using optical spectroscopy techniques and vacuum referred binding energy (VRBE) diagram analysis. By monitoring the temperature dependence of the luminescence decay time we establish an excellent, intrinsic, thermal stability of luminescence in CSSO:Ce3+, with a nearly constant decay time (≈60 ns) up to, at least, T = 860 K. In comparison, SYG:Ce3+ and YAG:Ce3+ exhibit a significant reduction of the luminescence decay time upon heating, starting at around T = 280 K and T = 550 K, respectively, suggesting a lower internal thermal stability of luminescence in these two garnet phosphors. These findings are supported by the energy separation between the Ce3+ 5d1 level and the conduction band (CB) of the respective hosts, which are found at 1.36 eV (CSSO:Ce3+), 0.45 eV (SYG:Ce3+), and 1.17 eV (YAG:Ce3+), respectively, as predicted by their VRBE diagrams. The performance of CSSO:Ce3+ was evaluated by applying the phosphor on a blue InGaN LED. The system shows a luminous efficacy of optical radiation of 243 lm W−1 and a linear response with increasing applied voltage, suggesting it is a highly promising phosphor for future technological applications, particularly at high temperature operating environments.

In this paper we report the study of down-shifting silica-zirconia glass and glass-ceramic films doped by Tb3+ions and Ag nanoaggregates, which combine the typical spectral properties of the rare-earth-ions with the broadband sensitizing effect of the metal nanostructures. Na-Tb co-doped silica-zirconia samples were obtained by a modified sol-gel route. Dip-coating deposition followed by annealing for solvent evaporation and matrix densification were repeated several times, obtaining a homogeneous crack-free film. A final treatment at 700 °C or 1000 °C was performed to control the nanoscale structural properties of the samples, resulting respectively in a glass (G) or a glass-ceramic (GC), where tetragonal zirconia nanocrystals are surrounded by an amorphous silica matrix. Ag introduction was then achieved by ion-exchange in a molten salt bath, followed by annealing in air to control the migration and aggregation of the metal ions. The comparison of the structural, compositional and optical properties are presented for G and GC samples, providing evidence of highly efficient photoluminescence enhancement in both systems, slightly better in G than in GC samples, with a remarkable increase of the green Tb3+PL emission at 330 nm excitation: 12 times for G and 8 times for GC samples. Furthermore, after Ag-exchange, the shape of Tb3+excitation resembles the one of Ag ions/nanoaggregates, with a broad significant absorption in the whole UV-blue spectral region. This broadband enhanced downshifting could find potential applications in lighting devices and in PV solar cells.

We study the photoluminescence properties of the red-emitting phosphor Ca9Eu(VO4)(7) and establish a strong red emission centered at 613 nm under excitation at 395 nm (near ultra violet light, near-UV light) due to the intra-configurational D-5(0) -> F-7(2) transition within the 4f(6) configuration of the Eu3+ ions. The intensity of the emitted light decreases with increasing temperature and at T = 470 K about 50% of the intensity of the emitted light at room temperature is lost. Five different red-LED prototypes were constructed by applying a mixture of Ca9Eu(VO4)(7) phosphor and silicone gel on the headers of near-UV LED chips. The prototypes showed a color output from violet for the lowest phosphor concentration (133 g phosphor /l silicone gel), reaching an almost pure red-light output for the highest phosphor concentration (670 g phosphor /l silicone gel). The luminous efficiency of optical radiation (LER) was found to decrease slightly with increasing applied current. For the highest phosphor concentration, the LER decreases from 238 lmW(-1) for 1 mA current supply to 235 lmW(-1) for 18 mA current supply. The external quantum efficiency decreased from 7.33% for the lowest phosphor containing LED prototype to 4.13% for the highest one. (C) The Author(s) 2019. Published by ECS.

The vibrational spectra and short-range structure of the brownmillerite-type oxide Ba2In2O6 and its hydrated form BaInO3H, are investigated by means of Raman, infrared, and inelastic neutron scattering spectroscopies together with density functional theory calculations. For Ba2In2O6, which may be described as an oxygen deficient perovskite structure with alternating layers of InO6 octahedra and InO4 tetrahedra, the results affirm a short-range structure of Icmm symmetry, which is characterized by random orientation of successive layers of InO4 tetrahedra. For the hydrated, proton conducting, form, BaInO3H, the results suggest that the short-range structure is more complicated than the P4/mbm symmetry that has been proposed previously on the basis of neutron diffraction, but rather suggest a proton configuration close to the lowest energy structure predicted by Martinez et al. [J.-R. Martinez, C. E. Moen, S. Stoelen, N. L. Allan, J. Solid State Chem., 180, 3388, (2007)]. An intense Raman active vibration at 150 cm(-1) is identified as a unique fingerprint of this proton configuration.

International audience; Hydrated samples of the two proton conducting perovskites BaZr 0.9 M 0.1 O 2.95 (M = Y and Sc) were investigated using neutron spin−echo spectroscopy together with thermal gravimetric measurements, polarized neutron diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy, with the aim to determine how the atomic-scale proton dynamics depend on temperature, and type of dopant atom, M. The results show the presence of pronounced localized proton motions for temperatures above ca. 300 K, characterized by relaxation times on the order of picoseconds to nanoseconds and governed by a wide distribution of activation energies due to a heterogeneous distribution of proton sites present, with no strong dependence on the type of dopant atom.

Solid oxide oxygen ion and proton conductors are a highly important class of materials for renewable energy conversion devices like solid oxide fuel cells. Ba2In2O5 (BIO) exhibits both oxygen ion and proton conduction, in a dry and humid environment, respectively. In a dry environment, the brownmillerite crystal structure of BIO exhibits an ordered oxygen ion sublattice, which has been speculated to result in anisotropic oxygen ion conduction. The hydrated structure of BIO, however, resembles a perovskite and the protons in it were predicted to be ordered in layers. To complement the significant theoretical and experimental efforts recently reported on the potentially anisotropic conductive properties in BIO, we measure here both the proton and oxygen ion conductivity along different crystallographic directions. Using epitaxial thin films with different crystallographic orientations, the charge transport for both charge carriers is shown to be anisotropic. The anisotropy of the oxygen ion conduction can indeed be explained by the layered structure of the oxygen sublattice of BIO. The anisotropic proton conduction, however, further supports the suggested ordering of the protonic defects in the material. The differences in proton conduction along different crystallographic directions attributed to proton ordering in BIO are of a similar extent as those observed along different crystallographic directions in materials where proton ordering is not present but where protons find preferential conduction pathways through chainlike or layered structures.

The influence of the Ce3+ concentration on the excitation and emission characteristics, thermal stability, and charge-trapping–detrapping dynamics, of the green-emitting phosphor Ce3+ doped calcium scandium oxide (CaSc2O4) with very dilute Ce3+ substitutions (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5%), has been investigated using optical spectroscopy techniques. The diffuse reflectance and excitation spectra are found to exhibit a nonsystematic behavior with varying Ce3+ concentration, mainly linked to spectral band-overlap, whereas the emission spectra display only minor changes with varying Ce3+ concentration, suggesting that the local structural coordination of the Ce3+ dopants remains the same for different Ce3+ dopant levels. The major impact of Ce3+ concentration is seen on the thermal quenching temperature, which is found to be as high as T50% ≈ 600 K for the most dilute Ce3+ doping (0.5%), followed by T50% ≈ 530 K for 1.0% doping and T50% ≈ 500 K for 1.5% doping, respectively. The materials are found to display a red-sh...