Experimental and theoretical investigation of a mesoporous K sub(x)WO sub(3) material having superior mechanical strength

Mesoporous materials with tailored properties hold great promise for energy harvesting and industrial applications. We have synthesized a novel tungsten bronze mesoporous material (K sub(x)WO sub(3); x similar to 0.07) having inverse FDU-12 type pore symmetry and a crystalline framework. In situ sma...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2016-01, Vol.8 (5), p.2937-2943
Main Authors: Dey, Sonal, Anderson, Sean T, Mayanovic, Robert A, Sakidja, Ridwan, Landskron, Kai, Kokoszka, Berenika, Mandal, Manik, Wang, Zhongwu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bulk modulus
Energy harvesting
Formations
Nanostructure
Porosity
Strength
Tungsten bronze
Tungsten oxides
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Summary:Mesoporous materials with tailored properties hold great promise for energy harvesting and industrial applications. We have synthesized a novel tungsten bronze mesoporous material (K sub(x)WO sub(3); x similar to 0.07) having inverse FDU-12 type pore symmetry and a crystalline framework. In situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of the mesoporous K sub(0.07)WO sub(3) show persistence of a highly ordered meso-scale pore structure to high pressure conditions ( similar to 18.5 GPa) and a material with remarkable mechanical strength despite having similar to 35% porosity. Pressure dependent in situ SAXS measurements reveal a bulk modulus Kappa = 44 plus or minus 4 GPa for the mesoporous K sub(x)WO sub(3) which is comparable to the corresponding value for the bulk monoclinic WO sub(3) ( gamma -WO sub(3)). Evidence from middle angle (MAXS) and wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Raman spectroscopy shows that the presence of potassium leads to the formation of a K-bearing orthorhombic tungsten bronze (OTB) phase within a monoclinic WO sub(3) host structure. Our ab initio molecular dynamics calculations show that the formation of the OTB phase provides superior strength to the mesoporous K sub(0.07)WO sub(3).
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c5nr07941a