Molecules (Jan 2021)

Interplay between Oxo and Fluoro in Vanadium Oxyfluorides for Centrosymmetric and Non-Centrosymmetric Structure Formation

  • Prashanth Sandineni,
  • Hooman Yaghoobnejad Asl,
  • Weiguo Zhang,
  • P. Shiv Halasyamani,
  • Kartik Ghosh,
  • Amitava Choudhury

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26030603
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 3
p. 603

Abstract

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Herein, we report the syntheses of two lithium-vanadium oxide-fluoride compounds crystallized from the same reaction mixture through a time variation experiment. A low temperature hydrothermal route employing a viscous paste of V2O5, oxalic acid, LiF, and HF allowed the crystallization of one metastable phase initially, Li2VO0.55(H2O)0.45F5⋅2H2O (I), which on prolonged heating transforms to a chemically similar yet structurally different phase, Li3VOF5 (II). Compound I crystallizes in centrosymmetric space group, I2/a with a = 6.052(3), b = 7.928(4), c = 12.461(6) Å, and β = 103.99(2)°, while compound II crystallizes in a non-centrosymmetric (NCS) space group, Pna21 with a = 5.1173(2), b = 8.612(3), c = 9.346(3) Å. Synthesis of NCS crystals are highly sought after in solid-state chemistry for their second-harmonic-generation (SHG) response and compound II exhibits SHG activity albeit non-phase-matchable. In this article, we also describe their magnetic properties which helped in unambiguous assignment of mixed valency of V (+4/+5) for Li2VO0.55(H2O)0.45F5⋅2H2O (I) and +4 valency of V for Li3VOF5 (II).

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