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Layered α-TiCl₃: Microsheets on YSZ Substrates for Ethylene Polymerization with Enhanced Activity
(2019)
The transition metal halide α-titanium(III) chloride (α-TiCl₃) is a layered two-dimensional compound and a well-established Ziegler–Natta catalyst for the polymerization of ethylene. A new synthesis technique is used to obtain thin sheets of α-TiCl₃ that show exceptional physical properties in contrast to their bulk counterparts, due to an enlarged surface-to-volume ratio. Chemical vapor transport (CVT) of α-titanium(III) chloride directly on substrates results in microsheets that exhibit an improved catalytic effect. For rational planning of synthesis conditions, thermodynamic simulations of occurring gas-phase equilibria were performed. Based on these calculation results, crystal growth was achieved by adding GaCl₃via pure short term CVT in a temperature gradient of 700–600 K on yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates. Phase pure, as-grown, single crystal sheets with high crystallinity and a thickness of around 4 μm were obtained. These thin sheets of α-TiCl₃ on YSZ substrates were implemented as catalysts for the ethylene polymerization reaction. A significant improvement of catalytic activity of 16% was achieved, probably due to an increased surface-to-volume ratio. As a highlight, the as-grown microsheets were exfoliated subsequently to a thickness lower than 200 nm and an even higher catalytic activity of up to 24% was confirmed experimentally due to delamination effects. This is the first time that an improved catalytic effect of α-TiCl₃ is observed as a result of downscaling from bulk to microsheets by CVT.
2D layered honeycomb magnet α-ruthenium(III) chloride (α-RuCl3) is a promising candidate to realize a Kitaev spin model. As alteration of physical properties on the nanoscale is additionally intended, new synthesis approaches to obtain phase pure α-RuCl3 nanocrystals have been audited. Thermodynamic simulations of occurring gas phase equilibria were performed and optimization of synthesis conditions was achieved based on calculation results. Crystal growth succeeded via chemical vapor transport (CVT) in a temperature gradient of 973 K to 773 K on YSZ substrates. Single crystal sheets of high crystallinity with heights ≤ 30 nm were obtained via pure CVT. The crystal properties were characterized by means of optical and electron microscopy, AFM, SAED, micro-Raman and XPS proving their composition, morphology, crystallinity and phase-purity. A highlight of our study is the successful individualization of nanocrystals and the delamination of nanosheets on YSZ substrates down to the monolayer limit (≤ 1 nm) which was realized by means of substrate exfoliation and ultrasonication in a very reproducible way.
Alpha-molybdenum(III) chloride (MoCl₃) belongs to layered van-der-Waals materials, which are in focus to exhibit interesting properties due to their weak chemical and magnetic interactions. Especially the structure of alpha-MoCl₃ has been discussed in terms of symmetry breaking dimerization of Mo atoms at room temperature, which might led to exotic ground states. By exploiting the 2D materials characteristics, an investigation of physical properties on the nanoscale is intended. We herein demonstrate the probably first approach to synthesize phase pure, as-grown alpha-MoCl₃ few-layer nanosheets by means of a pure short time chemical vapor transport (CVT) process. Vapor growth benefits from a one-step deposition of high crystalline alpha-MoCl₃ nanosheets without stacking faults on a substrate. Thus, mostly applied subsequent delamination, associated with the introduction of structural defects, becomes redundant. According to the CVT process thermodynamic simulations of gas phase equilibria have been performed and the synthesis conditions could be optimized based on the calculation results. By CVT the as-grown nanolayers are deposited on sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrates by applying a temperature gradient of 70 K from 743 K to 673 K. Single crystalline sheets with thicknesses ≤75 nm down to five layer (3 nm) could be obtained by using a pure CVT process. According to the deposited nanostructures we approve the desired composition, morphology, phase purity and high crystallinity by using several microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. Furthermore, we show micro-RAMAN measurements which hint at a slight increase in phonon energies for nanosheets in comparison to the corresponding bulk phase.
The experimental observation of intrinsic ferromagnetism in single layered chromium trihalides CrX₃ (X = Cl, Br, I) has gained outstanding attention recently due to their possible implementation in spintronic devices. However, the reproducible preparation of highly crystalline chromium(III) halide nanolayers without stacking faults is still an experimental challenge. As chromium trihalides consist of adjacent layers with weak interlayer coupling, the preparation of ultrathin CrX₃ nanosheets directly on substrates via vapor transport proves as an advantageous synthesis technique. It is demonstrated that vapor growth of ultrathin highly crystalline CrX₃ micro‐ and nanosheets succeeds directly on yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates in a one‐step process via chemical vapor transport (CVT) in temperature gradients of 100 K (600°C → 500°C for CrCl₃ and 650°C → 550°C for CrBr₃ or CrI₃) without a need for subsequent delamination. Due to simulation results, optimization of synthesis conditions is realized and phase pure CrX₃ nanosheets with thicknesses ≤25 nm are obtained via short term CVT. The nanosheets morphology, crystallinity, and phase purity are analyzed by several techniques, including microscopy, diffraction, and spectroscopy. Furthermore, a potential subsequent delamination technique is demonstrated to give fast access to CrX₃ monolayers using the example of CrCl₃ .