Investigation of some new hydro(solvo)thermal synthesis routes to nanostructured mixed-metal oxides

We present a study of two new solvothermal synthesis approaches to mixed-metal oxide materials and structural characterisation of the products formed. The solvothermal oxidation of metallic gallium by a diethanolamine solution of iron(II) chloride at 240 degrees C produces a crystalline sample of a spinel-structured material, made up of nano-scale particles typically 20 nm in dimension. XANES spectroscopy at the K-edge shows that the material contains predominantly Fe2+ in an octahedral environment, but that a small amount of Fe3+ is also present. Careful analysis using transmission electron microscopy and powder neutron diffraction shows that the sample is actually a mixture of two spinel materials: predominantly ( >97%) an Fe2+ phase Ga1.8Fe1.2O3.9, but with a minor impurity phase that is iron-rich. In contrast, the hydrothermal reaction of titanium bis(ammonium lactato)dihydroxide in water with increasing amounts of Sn(IV) acetate allows nanocrystalline samples of the SnO2-TiO2 solid solution to be prepared directly, as proved by powder XRD and Raman spectroscopy. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.