A comprehensive spectroscopic characterization of all known crystalline AlF3 phases (α-, β-, η-, κ-, θ-AlF3) is presented for the first time in this study. Beside their X-ray diffraction powder patterns, which were already published in the literature, 27Al and 19F MAS NMR, FT IR and XPS spectroscopic techniques were applied for all phases in a consistent manner. For all phases prepared the utilization of 27Al satellite transition (SATRAS) NMR allowed to determine the quadrupolar parameters of the aluminium sites including their distributions.
In addition, η-AlF3 was isolated with high phase purity and characterized following a new preparation path different from those known so far in the literature.
Cr2O3, CrCl3, α-CrF3, CrF3·3H20 and Cr(OH)3 were investigated by x-ray photoelectron (XPS) and x-ray excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES) using a latest generation XPS spectrometer. Non-conductive powders are analyzed with ultimate energy resolution. Multiplet splitting features and/or satellite emission were observed in the Cr 2p and Cr 3s spectra. Cr(III) compounds are of interest in many applications as for example in corrosion and catalysis. Chromia and chromium-III-fluoride activated by reaction with fluoroalkanes are very promising industrial catalysts. It is the aim of this selection of spectral reference data to enable deeper insight in the formation of catalytically active fluorinated chromia phases by using XPS analysis.
Solgel prepared ternary FeF3–MgF2 materials have become promising heterogeneous catalysts due to their porosity and surface Lewis/Brønsted acidity (bi-acidity). Despite the good catalytic performance, nanoscopic characterisations of this type of material are still missing and the key factors controlling the surface properties have not yet been identified, impeding both a better understanding and further development of ternary fluoride catalysts. In this study, we characterised the interaction between the bi-acidic component (FeF3) and the matrix (MgF2) on the nano-scale. For the first time, the formation pathway of FeF3–MgF2 was profiled and the template effect of MgF2 during the synthesis process was discovered. Based on these new insights two novel materials, FeF3–CaF2 and FeF3–SrF2, were established, revealing that with decreasing the atomic numbers (from Sr to Mg), the ternary fluorides exhibited increasing surface acidity and surface area but decreasing pore size. These systematic changes gave rise to a panel of catalysts with tuneable surface and bulk properties either by changing the matrix alkaline earth metal fluoride or by adjusting their ratios to Fe or both. The template effect of the alkaline earth metal fluoride matrix was identified as the most probable key factor determining the surface properties and further influencing the catalytic performance in ternary fluoride based catalysts, and paves the way to targeted design of next-generation catalysts with tunable properties.