Compound, electron interstitial

By analogy with similar materials in which free elecU ons and electron holes are formed, NiO is called a p-type compound having vacant site Schottky defects, and ZnO is an n-type compound having interstitial Frenkel defects. The concentrations of these defects and their relation to the oxygen pressure in the suiTounding atmosphere can be calculated, for a dilute solution of defects by the application of a mass action equation. The two reactions shown above are represented by the equations... 

The material would be expected to be a hole (p-type) semiconductor. However, in this compound the interstitial oxygen ions can diffuse fairly quickly, and the oxygen diffusion coefficient is higher than normal, so that the compound shows both high oxygen diffusivity and electronic conductivity, a situation referred to as mixed conductivity (Section 8.7). 

Clusters with interstitial atoms are an interesting class of polynuclear complexes. Several examples of compounds with interstitial atoms (H, C, Ge, N, P, S, etc.) have been reported. These compounds exhibit special behavior because the presence of main-group atoms in the cluster cage influences the chemical reactivity and stability of the system and its geometric structure. In the following section we consider some of these peculiarities, related both to the stability and to the electronic properties of clusters with interstitial elements. 

Even the extremely electron-deficient alkali metals can form clusters when interstitial atoms contribute to their stabilization. Compounds of this kind are the alkali metal suboxides such as Rb902 it has two octahedra sharing a common face, and each is occupied by one O atom (Fig. 13.16). Flowever, the electron deficiency is so severe that metallic bonding is needed between the clusters. In a way, these compounds are metals, but not with single metal ions as in the pure metal Rb+e-, but with a constitution [Rb902]5+(e )5, essentially with ionic bonding in the cluster. 

In many compound semiconductors the band gap is rather small, leading to a significant concentration of intrinsic electrons and holes while the population of interstitial... 

Krypton is an inert gas element. Its closed-shell, stable octet electron configuration allows zero reactivity with practically any substance. Only a few types of compounds, complexes, and clathrates have been synthesized, mostly with fluorine, the most electronegative element. The most notable is krypton difluoride, KrF2 [13773-81-4], which also forms complex salts such as Kr2F3+AsFe [52721-23-0] and KrF+PtFF [52707-25-2]. These compounds are unstable at ambient conditions. Krypton also forms clathrates with phenol and hydroquinone. Such interstitial substances are thermodynamicahy unstable and have irregular stoichiometric compositions (See Argon clathrates). 

Non-stoichiometry is a very important property of actinide dioxides. Small departures from stoichiometric compositions, are due to point-defects in anion sublattice (vacancies for AnOa-x and interstitials for An02+x )- A lattice defect is a point perturbation of the periodicity of the perfect solid and, in an ionic picture, it constitutes a point charge with respect to the lattice, since it is a point of accumulation of electrons or electron holes. This point charge must be compensated, in order to preserve electroneutrality of the total lattice. Actinide ions having usually two or more oxidation states within a narrow range of stability, the neutralization of the point charges is achieved through a Redox process, i.e. oxidation or reduction of the cation. This is in fact the main reason for the existence of non-stoichiometry. In this respect, actinide compounds are similar to transition metals oxides and to some lanthanide dioxides. 

For nonstoichiometric compounds, the general rule is that when there is an excess of cations or a deficiency of anions, the compound is an n-type semiconductor. Conversely, an excess of anions or deficiency of cations creates a / -type semiconductor. There are some compounds that may exhibit either p- or n-type behavior, depending on what kind of ions are in excess. Lead sulfide, PbS, is an example. An excess of Pb + ions creates an n-type semiconductor, whereas an excess of ion creates a /7-type semiconductor. Similarly, many binary oxide ceramics owe their electronic conductivity to deviations from stoichiometric compositions. For example, CU2O is a well-known / -type semiconductor, whereas ZnO with an excess of cations as interstitial atoms is an n-type semiconductor. A partial list of some impurity-controlled compound semiconductors is given in Table 6.9. 

The addition of 0.18 interstitial ions to the formula unit of La2Ni04 requires that the oxidation state of Ni be increased to +2.36. Given that the equatorial Ni-O bonds have a length of 194 pm and therefore a bond valence of 0.46 vu, this increase in the oxidation state of Ni allows the axial bond valences to be increased from 0.08 to 0.26 vu reducing the length of the Ni-Oa iai bonds from 259 pm to the more acceptable value of 215 pm. This in turn reduces the valence required for the axial La-O bond by 0.18 vu which, together with the extra valence contributed by the interstitial 0 , reduces the distortion around La " " to an acceptable level. It is difficult to calculate the BSI and GII for this compound since one needs to know how the interstitial 0 ions are ordered within the LaO double layer, but clearly the BSI will be considerably reduced from the value 0.29 vu that it had before the introduction of the defect and subsequent electronic relaxation. This form of the structure is stable and is the form normally found when the material is prepared in air. 

The relaxation of La2Ni04 to La2Ni04,i8 illustrates a couple of important points. Firstly, the defect and electronic modes of relaxation necessarily work together since the change in oxidation state of NP+ is directly related to the amount of interstitial present. This simultaneous relaxation of both the stretched and the compressed layers is a feature found in many, if not all, of the observed mechanisms for relaxing lattice-induced strain. Secondly, the lattice-induced strain is directly responsible for the crystallization of a stable compound with a fixed, but irrational, composition, involving a fixed, but nonintegral, oxidation state for nickel. 

In interstitial compounds, however, the nonmetal is conveniently regarded as neutral atoms inserted into the interstices of the expanded lattice of the elemental metal. Obviously, this is an oversimplification, as the electrons of the nonmetal atoms must interact with the modified valence and conduction bands of the metal host, but this crude picture is adequate for our purposes. On this basis, Hagg made the empirical observation that insertion is possible when the atomic radius of the nonmetal is not greater than 0.59 times the atomic radius of the host metal—there is no simple geometrical justification for this, however, as the metal lattice is concomitantly expanded by an unknown amount. These interstitial compounds are sometimes called Hagg compounds.9,10 They are, in effect, interstitial solid solutions of the nonmetal in the metal (as distinct from substitutional solid solutions, in which actual lattice atoms are replaced, as in the case of gold-copper and other alloys Section 4.3). 

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