TY - JOUR A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Kochovski, Z. A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Stawski, Tomasz T1 - Ni- and Co-Struvites: Revealing Crystallization Mechanisms and Crystal Engineering toward Applicational Use of Transition Metal Phosphates JF - Crystal Growth & Design N2 - Industrial and agricultural waste streams (waste water, sludges, tailings, etc.) which contain high concentrations of NH4+, PO43–, and transition metals are environmentally harmful and toxic pollutants. At the same time, phosphorous and transition metals constitute highly valuable resources. Typically, separate pathways have been considered to extract hazardous transition metals or phosphate independently from each other. Investigations on the simultaneous removal of multiple components have been carried out only to a limited extent. Here, we report the synthesis routes for Ni- and Co-struvites (NH4MPO4·6H2O, M = Ni2+ and Co2+), which allow for P, ammonia, and metal co-precipitation. By evaluating different reaction parameters, the phase and stability of transition metal struvites as well as their crystal morphologies and sizes could be optimized. Ni-struvite is stable in a wide reactant concentration range and at different metal/phosphorus (M/P) ratios, whereas Co-struvite only forms at low M/P ratios. Detailed investigations of the precipitation process using ex situ and in situ techniques provided insights into the crystallization mechanisms/crystal engineering of these materials. M-struvites crystallize via intermediate colloidal amorphous nanophases, which subsequently aggregate and condense to final crystals after extended reaction times. However, the exact reaction kinetics of the formation of a final crystalline product varies significantly depending on the involved metal cation in the precipitation process: several seconds (Mg) to minutes (Ni) to hours (Co). The achieved level of control over the morphology and size makes precipitation of transition metal struvites a promising method for direct metal recovery and binding them in the form of valuable phosphate raw materials. Under this paradigm, the crystals can be potentially up-cycled as precursor powders for electrochemical or (electro)catalytic applications, which require transition metal phosphates. KW - Crystallization KW - Struvite KW - Nickel KW - Cobalt KW - Phosphorous recovery KW - Up-cycling KW - Aqueous synthesis PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00284 VL - 22 IS - 7 SP - 4305 EP - 4315 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington D.C. AN - OPUS4-55286 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sprachmann, J. A1 - Wachsmuth, T. A1 - Bhosale, M. A1 - Burmeister, D. A1 - Smales, Glen Jacob A1 - Schmidt, M. A1 - Kochovski, Z. A1 - Grabicki, N. A1 - Wessling, R. A1 - List-Kratochvil, E. J. W. A1 - Esser, B. A1 - Dumele, O. T1 - Antiaromatic Covalent Organic Frameworks Based on Dibenzopentalenes JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society N2 - Despite their inherent instability, 4n π systems have recently received significant attention due to their unique optical and electronic properties. In dibenzopentalene (DBP), benzanellation stabilizes the highly antiaromatic pentalene core, without compromising its amphoteric redox behavior or small HOMO−LUMO energy gap. However, incorporating such molecules in organic devices as discrete small molecules or amorphous polymers can limit the performance (e.g., due to solubility in the battery electrolyte solution or low internal surface area). Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), on the contrary, are highly ordered, porous, and crystalline materials that can provide a platform to align molecules with specific properties in a well-defined, ordered environment. We synthesized the first antiaromatic framework materials and obtained a series of three highly crystalline and porous COFs based on DBP. Potential applications of such antiaromatic bulk materials were explored: COF films show a conductivity of 4 × 10−8 S cm−1 upon doping and exhibit photoconductivity upon irradiation with visible light. Application as positive electrode materials in Li-organic batteries demonstrates a significant enhancement of performance when the antiaromaticity of the DBP unit in the COF is exploited in its redox activity with a discharge capacity of 26 mA h g−1 at a potential of 3.9 V vs. Li/Li+ . This work showcases antiaromaticity as a new design principle for functional framework materials. KW - SAXS KW - MOUSE KW - Covalent Organic Frameworks KW - Batteries PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c10501 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-56958 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - Scoppola, E. A1 - Wolf, S.E. A1 - Kochovski, Z. A1 - Matzdorff, D. A1 - Van Driessche, A. E. S. A1 - Hövelmann, J. A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. T1 - Evidence for liquid-liquid phase separation during the early stages of Mg-struvite formation JF - The Journal of Chemical Physics N2 - The precipitation of struvite, a magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH₄PO₄ · 6H₂O) mineral, from wastewater is a promising method for recovering phosphorous. While this process is commonly used in engineered environments, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the formation of struvite crystals remains limited. Specifically, indirect evidence suggests the involvement of an amorphous precursor and the occurrence of multi-step processes in struvite formation, which would indicate non-classical paths of nucleation and crystallization. In this study, we use synchrotron-based in situ x-ray scattering complemented by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy to obtain new insights from the earliest stages of struvite formation. The holistic scattering data captured the structure of an entire assembly in a time-resolved manner. The structural features comprise the aqueous medium, the growing struvite crystals, and any potential heterogeneities or complex entities. By analysing the scattering data, we found that the onset of crystallization causes a perturbation in the structure of the surrounding aqueous medium. This perturbation is characterized by the occurrence and evolution of Ornstein-Zernike fluctuations on a scale of about 1 nm, suggesting a non-classical nature of the system. We interpret this phenomenon as a liquid-liquid phase separation, which gives rise to the formation of the amorphous precursor phase preceding actual crystal growth of struvite. Our microscopy results confirm that the formation of Mg-struvite includes a short-lived amorphous phase, lasting >10 s. KW - Physical and theoretical chemistry KW - Non-classical crystallization KW - Struvite KW - Liquid-liquid-phase-separation KW - Nucleation KW - Crystallization KW - In-situ scattering PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-584766 DO - https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0166278 SN - 1089-7690 VL - 159 IS - 13 SP - 1 EP - 12 PB - AIP Publishing CY - Woodbury, NY AN - OPUS4-58476 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - Kochovski, Z. A1 - Scoppola, E. A1 - Retzmann, Anika A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - ten Elshof, J. E. A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Stawski, Tomasz Maciej T1 - Nonclassical Crystallization Pathway of Transition Metal Phosphate Compounds JF - Chemistry of Materials N2 - Here, we elucidate nonclassical multistep crystallization pathways of transition metal phosphates from aqueous solutions. We followed precipitation processes of M-struvites, NH4MPO4·6H2O, and M-phosphate octahydrates, M3(PO4)2·8H2O, where M = Ni, Co, or NixCo1–x, by using in situ scattering and spectroscopy-based techniques, supported by elemental mass spectrometry analyses and advanced electron microscopy. Ni and Co phosphates crystallize via intermediate colloidal amorphous nanophases, which change their complex structures while agglomerating, condensing, and densifying throughout the extended reaction times. We reconstructed the three-dimensional morphology of these precursors by employing cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET). We found that the complex interplay between metastable amorphous colloids and protocrystalline units determines the reaction pathways. Ultimately, the same crystalline structure, such as struvite, is formed. However, the multistep process stages vary in complexity and can last from a few minutes to several hours depending on the selected transition metal(s), their concentration, and the Ni/Co ratio. KW - Non-classical crystallization theory KW - Transition metals KW - Phosphates KW - Amorphous phases KW - Intermediate phases PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c02346 SN - 1520-5002 VL - 35 IS - 24 SP - 10645 EP - 10657 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) CY - Washington D.C. AN - OPUS4-59135 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -