TY - JOUR A1 - Seidel, R. A1 - Kraffert, K. A1 - Kabelitz, Anke A1 - Pohl, M.N. A1 - Kraehnert, R. A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Winter, B. T1 - Detection of the electronic structure of iron-(III)-oxo oligomers forming in aqueous solutions JF - Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics N2 - The nature of the small iron-oxo oligomers in iron-(III) aqueous solutions has a determining effect on the chemical processes that govern the formation of nanoparticles in aqueous phase. Here we report on a liquid-Jet photoelectron-spectroscopy experiment for the investigation of the electronic structure of the occurring iron-oxo oligomers in FeCl3 aqueous solutions. The only iron species in the as-prepared 0.75 M solution are Fe3+ monomers. Addition of NaOH initiates Fe3+ hydrolysis which is followed by the formation of iron-oxo oligomers. At small enough NaOH concentrations, corresponding to approximately [OH]/[Fe] = 0.2–0.25 ratio, the iron oligomers can be stabilized for several hours without engaging in further aggregation. Here, we apply a combination of non-resonant as well as iron 2p and Oxygen 1s resonant photoelectron spectroscopy from a liquid microjet to detect the electronic structure of the occurring species. Specifically, the oxygen 1s partial electron yield X-ray absorption (PEY-XA) spectra are found to exhibit a peak well below the onset of liquid water and OH (aq) absorption. The iron 2p absorption gives rise to signal centered between the main absorption bands typical for aqueous Fe3+. Absorption bands in both PEY-XA spectra are found to correlate with an enhanced photoelectron Peak near 20 eV binding energy, which demonstrates the sensitivity of resonant photoelectron (RPE) spectroscopy to mixing between iron and ligand orbitals. These various signals from the iron-oxo oligomers exhibit Maximum intensity at [OH]/[Fe] = 0.25 ratio. For the same ratio, we observe changes in the pH as well as in complementary Raman spectra, which can be assigned to the Transition from monomeric to oligomeric species. At approximately [OH]/[Fe] = 0.3 we begin to observe particles larger than 1 nm in radius, detected by small-angle X-ray scattering. KW - Iron-oxo oligomers KW - XPS KW - Electronic structure PY - 2017 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-433468 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7cp06945f SN - 1463-9076 SN - 1463-9084 VL - 19 IS - 48 SP - 32226 EP - 32234 AN - OPUS4-43346 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulz, K. A1 - Schmack, R. A1 - Klemm, H. W. A1 - Kabelitz, Anke A1 - Schmidt, T. A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Kraehnert, R. T1 - Mechanism and kinetics of hematite crystallization in air: Linking bulk and surface models via mesoporous films with defined nanostructure JF - Chemistry of Materials N2 - Iron can form numerous oxides, hydroxides, and oxide−hydroxides. Despite their relevance, many of the transformation processes between these phases are still poorly understood. In particular the crystallization of quasi-amorphous hydroxides and oxide−hydroxides is difficult to assess, since typical diffraction and scattering methods provide only sampleaveraged information about the crystallized phases. We report a new approach for the investigation of the crystallization of oxide−hydroxides. The approach relies on model-type films that comprise a defined homogeneous nanostructure. The nanostructure allows quantitative linking of Information obtained by bulk-averaging diffraction techniques (XRD, SAXS) with locally resolved information, i.e., Domain sizes (SEM, TEM, LEEM) and phase composition (SAED). Using time-resolved imaging and diffraction we deduce mechanism and kinetics for the crystallization of ferrihydrite into hematite. Hematite forms via nucleation of hematite domains and subsequent Domain growth that terminates only upon complete transformation. A Johnson−Mehl−Avrami−Kolmogorov model describes the kinetics over a wide temperature range. The derived understanding enables the first synthesis of ferrihydrite films with ordered mesoporosity and quantitative control over the films’ hematite and ferrihydrite content. KW - Iron oxide KW - Crystallization KW - Mesoporous films KW - Nanostructure PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b05185 SN - 0897-4756 SN - 1520-5002 VL - 29 IS - 4 SP - 1724 EP - 1734 AN - OPUS4-39690 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bernsmeier, D. A1 - Bernicke, M. A1 - Ortel, Erik A1 - Bergmann, A. A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Nissen, J. A1 - Schmack, R. A1 - Strasser, P. A1 - Polte, J. A1 - Kraehnert, R. T1 - Nafion-free carbon-supported electrocatalysts with superior hydrogen evolution reaction performance by soft templating JF - CHEMELECTROCHEM N2 - Efficient water electrolysis requires electrode coatings with high catalytic activity. Platinum efficiently catalyzes the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic environments, but is a rare and expensive metal. The activity achieved per metal atom can be increased if small Pt particles are dispersed onto electrically conductive, highly accessible and stable support materials. However, the addition of Nafion, a typical binder material used in the manufacture of electrode coatings, can decrease catalytic activity by the blocking of pores and active surface sites. A new approach is reported for the direct synthesis of highly active Nafion-free Pt/C catalyst films consisting of small Pt nanoparticles supported in size-controlled mesopores of a conductive carbon film. The synthesis relies on the co-deposition of suitable Pt and C precursors in the presence of polymer micelles, which act as pore templates. Subsequent carbonization in an inert atmosphere produces porous catalyst films with controlled film thickness, pore size and particle size. The catalysts clearly outperform all Nafion-based Pt/C catalysts reported in the literature, particularly at high current densities. KW - XPS KW - SEM KW - TEM KW - SAXS KW - Catalysis KW - Electrochemistry PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/celc.201600444 SN - 2196-0216 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 221 EP - 229 PB - Wiley Online Library CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-39733 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rosu, Dana-Maria A1 - Ortel, Erik A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Kraehnert, R. A1 - Hertwig, Andreas ED - Hertwig, Andreas ED - Hinrichs, K. ED - Beck, Uwe ED - Esser, N. T1 - Ellipsometric porosimetry on pore-controlled TiO2 layers JF - Applied Surface Science N2 - The practical performance of surface coatings in applications like catalysis, water splitting or batteries depends critically on the coating materials’ porosity. Determining the porosity in a fast and nondestructive way is still an unsolved problem for industrial thin-films technology. As a contribution to calibrated, non-destructive, optical layer characterisation, we present a multi-method comparison study on porous TiO2 films deposited by sol-gel synthesis on Si wafers. The ellipsometric data were collected on a range of samples with different TiO2 layer thickness and different porosity values. These samples were produced by templated sol-gel synthesis resulting in layers with a well-defined pore size and pore density. The ellipsometry measurement data were analysed by means of a Bruggeman effective medium approximation (BEMA), with the aim to determine the mixture ratio of void and matrix material by a multi-sample analysis strategy. This analysis yielded porosities and layer thicknesses for all samples as well as the dielectric function for the matrix material. Following the idea of multi-method techniques in metrology, the data was referenced to imaging by electron microscopy (SEM) and to a new EPMA (electron probe microanalysis) porosity approach for thin film analysis. This work might lead to a better metrological understanding of optical porosimetry and also to better-qualified characterisation methods for nano-porous layer systems. 1. IntroductionPorous materials, especially porous thin films play an importantrole in chemical and physical technology in every case where thecontact area between two media has to be maximised. From cataly-sis to photochemistry and photovoltaics, the applications of porouslayer materials are diverse and numerous [1–6].The accurate and non-destructive characterisation of porousfilms for layered systems poses a challenge. This applies especiallyfor the key parameter of porous films, their porosity, i.e. the mix-ing ratio between the Matrix of the film (host material) and thepore volume which is empty or filled with a fluid medium (inclu-sions). This parameter influences most of the physical and chemicalproperties of a porous thin film and is therefore essential for theunderstanding as well as the optimisation of this class of materials. T2 - International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (ICSE-7) CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 06.06.2016 KW - Spectroscopic ellipsometry KW - Porous materials KW - Porosimetry KW - Multi-sample analysis KW - Thin film metrology PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.11.055 SN - 0169-4332 SN - 1873-5584 VL - 421 IS - Part B SP - 487 EP - 493 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-42517 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -