Present knowledge of electronic properties and charge transport of icosahedral boron-rich solids

Surface Properties and Morphology of Boron Carbide Nanopowders Obtained by Lyophilization of Saccharide Precursors

The powders of boron carbide are usually synthesized by the carbothermal reduction of boron oxide. As an alternative to high-temperature reactions, the development of the carbothermal reduction of organic precursors to produce B₄C is receiving considerable interest. The aim of this work was to compare two methods of preparing different saccharide precursors mixed with boric acid with a molar ratio of boron to carbon of 1:9 for the synthesis of B₄C. In the first method, aqueous solutions of saccharides and boric acid were dried overnight at 90 °C and pyrolyzed at 850 °C for 1 h under argon flow. In the second method, aqueous solutions of different saccharides and boric acid were freeze-dried and prepared in the same way as in the first method. Precursors from both methods were heat-treated at temperatures of 1300 to 1700 °C. The amount of boron carbide in the powders depends on the saccharides, the temperature of synthesis, and the method of precursor preparation.

p-n Control of AlMgB14-Based Thermoelectric Materials by Metal Site Occupancy

The mechanism for the p-n control of AlMgB₁₄-based thermoelectric material was investigated using Rietveld refinement and the first principle calculation. The p- and n-type AlMgB₁₄-based thermoelectric materials were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) with changing raw powder mixture ratio. Temperature dependence of Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity were different between the two types of samples. Seebeck coefficient shifted from positive to negative with increasing the number of valence electrons in the metal sites calculated by the metal site occupancy. The density of states and electron density distribution indicated that the electrons transfer from metal atoms to the B atoms.

Composition-Dependent Charge Transport in Boron Carbides Alloyed with Aromatics: Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition Aniline/Orthocarborane Films

Boron carbide films, alloyed with aniline moieties, were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) from aniline and orthocarborane precursors and were found to exhibit composition-dependent drift carrier lifetimes as derived from I( V) and C( V)) measurements. For a film with an aniline/carborane ratio of 5:1, the effective drift carrier lifetimes are ∼80 μs at low bias voltage but quickly drop to a few microseconds with increasing bias. A film with a 10:1 aniline/carborane ratio, however, exhibited lifetimes of ∼6 μs, or less, at 1 kHz, and much smaller values at 10 kHz. These lifetimes are orders of magnitude longer than those in polyaniline films and comparable to those in PECVD carborane films without aromatic content. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FTIR, and ellipsometry, combined with density functional theory (DFT)-based cluster calculations, indicate that aniline and orthocarborane moieties are largely intact within the films. Bonding occurs primarily between aniline C sites and carborane B sites, and the aniline coordination number per carborane icosahedron is ∼2 as the aniline/carborane ratio is increased from 3:1 to 10:1. This aniline/carborane coordination ratio independent of aniline/orthocarborane stoichiometry is consistent with the dependence of charge transport properties on aniline film content at high bias voltage.

Boron carbide, B(13-x)C(2-y) (x = 0.12, y = 0.01)

Boron carbide phases exist over a widely varying compos­itional range B_12+xC_3-x (0.06 < x < 1.7). One idealized structure corresponds to the B₁₃C₂ composition (space group R-3m) and contains one icosa­hedral B₁₂ unit and one linear C—B—C chain. The B₁₂ units are composed of crystallographically distinct B atoms B_P (polar, B1) and B_Eq (equatorial, B2). Boron icosa­hedra are inter­connected by C atoms via their B_Eq atoms, forming layers parallel to (001), while the B₁₂ units of the adjacent layers are linked through inter­icosa­hedral B_P—B_P bonds. The unique B atom (B_C) connects the two C atoms of adjacent layers, forming a C—B—C chain along [001]. Depending on the carbon concentration, the carbon and B_P sites exhibit mixed B/C occupancies to varying degrees; besides, the B_C site shows partial occupancy. The decrease in carbon content was reported to be realized via an increasing number of chainless unit cells. On the basis of X-ray single-crystal refinement, we have concluded that the unit cell of the given boron-rich crystal contains following structural units: [B₁₂] and [B₁₁C] icosa­hedra (about 96 and 4%, respectively) and C—B—C chains (87%). Besides, there is a fraction of unit cells (13%) with the B atom located against the triangular face of a neighboring icosa­hedron formed by B_Eq (B2) thus rendering the formula B_0.87(B_0.98C_0.02)₁₂(B_0.13C_0.87)₂ for the current boron carbide crystal.

Raman scattering and isotopic phonon effects in dodecaborides

The Raman spectra of numerous dodecaborides have been measured on high-quality single crystals at ambient conditions with high spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Besides the strong Raman-active modes, numerous Raman-inactive modes occur in the spectra, indicating distortions of the structures. Ab initio calculation of the phonon spectra on ZrB(12) excellently agrees with the experimental results. Force constants are theoretically calculated and force parameters are estimated from the Raman frequencies. The influence of the surface range on the Raman spectra is evident. The different isotopic effects (virtual crystal approximation, the polarization effect and the effect of isotopic disorder) on the phonon frequencies are determined, separated and discussed.