Suchergebnisse

The chemical bonding within the transition-metal carbide materials MAX phase Ti3AlC2 and MXene Ti3C2Txis investigated by x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended x-ray absorption fine-structure(EXAFS) spectroscopies. MAX phases are inherently nanolaminated materials that consist of alternating layersof Mn+1Xn and monolayers of an A-element from the IIIA or IVA group in the Periodic Table, where M is atransition metal and X is either carbon or nitrogen. Replacing the A-element with surface termination speciesTx will separate the Mn+1Xn-layers forming two-dimensional (2D) flakes of Mn+1XnTx. For Ti3C2Tx the Tx corresponds to fluorine (F) and oxygen (O) covering both sides of every single 2D Mn+1Xn-flake. The Ti K-edge(1s) XANES of both Ti3AlC2 and Ti3C2Tx exhibit characteristic preedge absorption regions of C 2p-Ti 3dhybridization with clear crystal-field splitting while the main-edge absorption features originate from the Ti1s → 4p excitation, where only the latter shows sensitivity toward the fcc-site occupation of the terminationspecies. The coordination numbers obtained from EXAFS show that Ti3AlC2 and Ti3C2Tx are highly anisotropicwith a strong in-plane contribution for Ti and with a dynamic out-of-plane contribution from the Al monolayersand termination species, respectively. As shown in the temperature-dependent measurements, the O contributionshifts to shorter bond length while the F diminishes as the temperature is raised from room temperature up to 750 °C. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research Council [2018-07152]; Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation SystemsVinnova [2018-04969]; FormasSwedish Research Council Formas [2019-02496]; Swedish Research Council (VR) LiLi-NFM Linnaeus EnvironmentSwedish R

We review the thin film growth, chemistry, and physical properties of Group 4-6 transition-metal diboride (TMB2) thin films with AlB2-type crystal structure (Strukturbericht designation C32). Industrial applications are growing rapidly as TMB2 begin competing with conventional refractory ceramics like carbides and nitrides, including pseudo-binaries such as Ti1-xAlxN. The TMB2 crystal structure comprises graphite-like honeycombed atomic sheets of B interleaved by hexagonal close-packed TM layers. From the C32 crystal structure stems unique properties including high melting point, hardness, and corrosion resistance, yet limited oxidation resistance, combined with high electrical conductivity. We correlate the underlying chemical bonding, orbital overlap, and electronic structure to the mechanical properties, resistivity, and high-temperature properties unique to this class of materials. The review highlights the importance of avoiding contamination elements (like oxygen) and boron segregation on both the target and substrate sides during sputter deposition, for better-defined properties, regardless of the boride system investigated. This is a consequence of the strong tendency for B to segregate to TMB2 grain boundaries for boron-rich compositions of the growth flux. It is judged that sputter deposition of TMB2 films is at a tipping point towards a multitude of applications for TMB2 not solely as bulk materials, but also as protective coatings and electrically conducting high-temperature stable thin films. ; Funding: Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Carl Tryggers Foundation [CTS20:272, CTS16:303, CTS14:310]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Project Grant (The Boride Frontier) [KAW 2015.0043]; Swedish Research Council (VR)Swedish Research Council [621-2010-3921]; AForsk Foundation [16-430]

The local structure and chemical bonding in two-phase amorphous Cr1−xCx nanocomposite thin films are investigated by Cr K-edge (1s) X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies in comparison to theory. By utilizing the computationally efficient stochastic quenching (SQ) technique, we reveal the complexity of different Cr-sites in the transition metal carbides, highlighting the need for large scale averaging to obtain theoretical XANES and EXAFS spectra for comparison with measurements. As shown in this work, it is advantageous to use ab initio theory as an assessment to correctly model and fit experimental spectra and investigate the trends of bond lengths and coordination numbers in complex amorphous materials. With sufficient total carbon content (≥30 at. %), we find that the short-range coordination in the amorphous carbide phase exhibit similarities to that of a Cr7C3 ± y structure, while excessive carbons assemble in the amorphous carbon phase. ; Funding agencies:We would like to thank the staff at MAX-lab for experimental support and U. Jansson and M. Andersson for providing the samples. This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council (VR) Linnaeus Grant LiLi-NFM, the FUNCASE project supported Swedish Strategic Research Foundation (SSF). W.O. acknowledges financial support from VR Grant No. 621-2011-4426, the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No 2009 00971), Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Foundation project Strong Field Physics and New States of Matter 2014-2019 (COTXS). B.A. would like to thank E. Holmstrom and R. Lizarraga for support with the SQ method and acknowledges financial support by the Swedish Research Council (VR) through the young researcher Grant No. 621-2011-4417 and the international career Grant No. 330-2014-6336 and Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, Cofund, Project INCA 600398. The calculations were performed using supercomputer resources provided by the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC) and Center for Parallel Computing (PDC).

The electronic structure and chemical bonding in reactively magnetron sputtered ZrHx (x = 0.15, 0.30, 1.16)thin films with oxygen content as low as 0.2 at.% are investigated by 4d valence band, shallow 4p core-level,and 3d core-level x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. With increasing hydrogen content, we observe significantreduction of the 4d valence states close to the Fermi level as a result of redistribution of intensity toward the H1s–Zr 4d hybridization region at ∼6 eV below the Fermi level. For low hydrogen content (x = 0.15, 0.30), thefilms consist of a superposition of hexagonal closest-packed metal (α phase) and understoichiometric δ-ZrHx(CaF2-type structure) phases, while for x = 1.16, the films form single-phase ZrHx that largely resembles thatof stoichiometric δ-ZrH2 phase. We show that the cubic δ-ZrHx phase is metastable as thin film up to x = 1.16,while for higher H contents the structure is predicted to be tetragonally distorted. For the investigated ZrH1.16film, we find chemical shifts of 0.68 and 0.51 eV toward higher binding energies for the Zr 4p3/2 and 3d5/2peak positions, respectively. Compared to the Zr metal binding energies of 27.26 and 178.87 eV, this signifiesa charge transfer from Zr to H atoms. The change in the electronic structure, spectral line shapes, and chemicalshifts as a function of hydrogen content is discussed in relation to the charge transfer from Zr to H that affectsthe conductivity by charge redistribution in the valence band. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF) through synergy grant FUNCASE [RMA11-0029]; Ca

MXenes are technologically interesting 2D materials that show potential in numerous applications. The properties of the MXenes depend at large extent on the selection of elements that build the 2D MX-layer. Another key parameter for tuning the attractive material properties is the species that terminate the surfaces of the MX-layers. Although being an important parameter, experimental studies on the bonding between the MX-layers and the termination species are few and thus an interesting subject of investigation. Here we show that the termination species fluorine (F) bonds to the T3C2-surface mainly through Ti 3p – F 2p hybridization and that oxygen (O) bonds through Ti 3p – O 2p hybridization with a significant contribution of Ti 3d and Ti 4p. The study further shows that the T3C2-surface is not only terminated by F and O on the threefold hollow face-centered-cubic (fcc) site. A significant amount of O sits on a bridge site bonded to two Ti surface atoms on the T3C2-surface. In addition, the results provide no support for hydroxide (OH) termination on the T3C2-surface. On the contrary, the comparison of the valence band intensity distribution obtained through ultraviolet- and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with computed spectra by density of states, weighed by matrix elements and sensitivity factors, reveals that OH cannot be considered as a inherent termination species in Ti3C2Tx. The results from this study have implications for correct modeling of the structure of MXenes and the corresponding materials properties. Especially in applications where surface composition and charge are important, such as supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, electrocatalysis, and fuel- and solar cells, where intercalation processes are essential. ; Funding agencies: Proposals 20190625, 20191107, and 20200582, the Swedish ResearchCouncil under contract 2018-07152, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems under contract 2018-04969, and Formas under contract 2019-02496, the Swedish Research Council through Grant Agreement No.2016-07213, the Swedish Research Council (VR) LiLi-NFM Linnaeus Environmentand Project Grant No. 621-2009-5258, the SwedishGovernment Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009-00971), the Swedish Energy Research (GrantNo. 43606-1) and the Carl Tryggers Foundation (CTS16:303,CTS14:310, CTS20:272).

The electronic structure, chemical bonding, and interface component in ZrN-AlN nanocomposites formed byphase separation during thin film deposition of metastable Zr1−xAlxN (x = 0.0, 0.12, 0.26, 0.40) are investigatedby resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, x-ray emission, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy and compared to firstprinciples calculations including transitions between orbital angular momentum final states. The experimentalspectra are compared with different interface-slab model systems using first principles all-electron full-potentialcalculations where the core states are treated fully relativistically. As shown in this work, the bulk sensitivity andelement selectivity of x-ray spectroscopy enables one to probe the symmetry and orbital directions at interfacesbetween cubic and hexagonal crystals. We show how the electronic structure develops from local octahedralbond symmetry of cubic ZrN that distorts for increasing Al content into more complex bonding. This results inthree different kinds of bonding originating from semicoherent interfaces with segregated ZrN and lamellar AlNnanocrystalline precipitates. An increasing chemical shift and charge transfer between the elements takes placewith increasing Al content and affects the bond strength and increases resistivity. ; Fulltext published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ No changes have been made to the fulltext. Funded by Bibsam. Funding agencies: Swedish Research Council (VR) LiLi-NFM Linnaeus EnvironmentSwedish Research Council [621-2009-5258]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971, 2

The electronic structure and chemical bonding of ß-Ta synthesized as a thin 001-oriented film (space group P 21m) is investigated by 4f core level and valence band X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and compared to α-Ta bulk. For the b-phase, the 4f7/2 peak is located at 21.91 eV and with the 4f5/2 at 23.81 eV which is 0.16 eV higher compared to the corresponding 4f peaks of the a-Ta reference. We suggest that this chemical shift originates from higher resistivity and tensile strain in the ß-Ta film. Furthermore, the 5d-5s states at the bottom of the valence band are shifted by 0.75 eV towards higher binding energy in ß-Ta compared to α-Ta. This is a consequence of the lower number of nearest neighbors with four in ß-Ta compared to eight in the α-Ta phase. The difference in the electronic structures, spectral line shapes of the valence band and the energy positions of the Ta 4f, 5p core-levels of b-Ta versus a-Ta are discussed in relation to calculated states of ß-Ta and α-Ta. In particular, the lower number of states at the Fermi level of ß-Ta (0.557 states/eV/atom) versus α-Ta (1.032 states/eV/atom) that according to Mott's law should decrease the conductivity in metals and affect the stability by charge redistribution in the valence band. This is experimentally supported from resistivity measurements of the film yielding a value of ~170 µW cm in comparison to α-Ta bulk with a reported value of ~13.1 µW cm. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009-00971]; Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Carl Tryggers Foundation [CTS16:303, CTS14:310, CTS 17:166]; Knut and Alice Wallenber

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) are applied to investigate the properties of fine-grained concentrates on artisanal, small-scale gold mining samples from the Kubi Gold Project of the Asante Gold Corporation near Dunwka-on-Offinin the Central Region of Ghana. Both techniques show that the Au-containing residual sediments are dominated by the host elements Fe, Ag, Al, N, O, Si, Hg, and Ti that either form alloys with gold or with inherent elements in the sediments. For comparison, a bulk nugget sample mainly consisting of Au forms an electrum, i.e., a solid solution with Ag. Untreated (impure) sediments, fine-grained Au concentrate, coarse-grained Au concentrate, and processed ore (Au bulk/nugget)samples were found to contain clusters of O, C, N, and Ag, with Au concentrations significantly lower than that of the related elements. This finding can be attributed to primary geochemical dispersion, which evolved from the crystallization of magma and hydrothermal liquids as well as the migration of metasomatic elements and the rapid rate of chemical weathering of lateralization in secondary processes. The results indicate that Si and Ag are strongly concomitant with Au because of their eutectic characteristics, while N, C, and O follow alongside because of their affinity to Si. These non-noble elements thus act as pathfinders for Au ores in the exploration area. This paper further discusses relationships between gold and sediments of auriferous lodes as key to determining indicator minerals of gold in mining sites. ; Funding agencies: the Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials at Linköping University (Faculty GrantSFO-Mat-LiU No. 2009 00971); the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the National Supercomputer Centre (NSC), partially funded by the Swedish Research Council through Grant Agreement No. 2016-07213, the Swedish Energy Research (Grant No. 43606-1), the Carl Tryggers Foundation (CTS20:272). Asante Gold Corporation is acknowledged for funding G.K.N.'s industrial PhD studies at Linköping University, Sweden.

With the examples of the C K-edge in graphite and the B K-edge in hexagonal boron nitride, we demonstrate the impact of vibrational coupling and lattice distortions on the X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) in two-dimensional layered materials. Theoretical XANES spectra are obtained by solving the Bethe–Salpeter equation of many-body perturbation theory, including excitonic effects through the correlated motion of the core hole and excited electron. We show that accounting for zero-point motion is important for the interpretation and understanding of the measured X-ray absorption fine structure in both materials, in particular for describing the σ*-peak structure. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009 00971]; Knut and Alice Wallenbergs Foundation; Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Carl Trygger Foundation [CTS16:303, CTS14:310]; JSPS KA

Multicomponent or high-entropy ceramics show unique combinations of mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties of importance in coating applications. However, generalizing controllable thin-film processes for these complex materials remains a challenge. Here, understoichiometric (TiZrTaMe)N1–x (Me = Hf, Nb, Mo, or Cr, 0.12 ≤ x ≤ 0.30) films were deposited on Si(100) substrates at 400 °C by reactive magnetron sputtering using single elemental targets. The influence of ion energy during film growth was investigated by varying the negative substrate bias voltage from ∼10 V (floating potential) to 130 V. The nitrogen content for the samples determined by elastic recoil detection analysis varied from 34.9 to 43.8 at. % (0.12 ≤ x ≤ 0.30), and the metal components were near-equimolar and not affected by the bias voltage. On increasing the substrate bias, the phase structures of (TiZrTaMe)N1–x (Me = Hf, Nb, or Mo) films evolved from a polycrystalline fcc phase to a (002) preferred orientation along with a change in surface morphology from faceted triangular features to a dense and smooth structure with nodular mounds. All the four series of (TiZrTaMe)N1–x (Me = Hf, Nb, Mo, or Cr) films exhibited increasing intrinsic stress with increasing negative bias. The maximum compressive stress reached ∼3.1 GPa in Hf- and Cr-containing films deposited at −130 V. The hardness reached a maximum value of 28.0 ± 1.0 GPa at a negative bias ≥100 V for all the four series of films. The effect of bias on the mechanical properties of (TiNbZrMe)N1–x films can thus guide the design of protective high-entropy nitride films. ; Funding Agencies|VINNOVA Competence Centre FunMat-II [2016-05156]; VINNOVA research infrastructure grantVinnova [2020-00825]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University [2009 00971]; M-ERA.net [2013-02355]; Knut and Alice Wallenberg FoundationKnut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation [2020.0196]; Electron Microscopy Laboratory at Linkoping University; Swedish Research CouncilSwedish Research CouncilEuropean Commission [VR 2018-04139]; VR-RFI [2017-00646_9]; Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF)Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [RIF14-0053]

The authors investigate sputtering of a Ti3SiC2 compound target at temperatures ranging from RT (no applied external heating) to 970 °C as well as the influence of the sputtering power at 850 °C for the deposition of Ti3SiC2 films on Al2O3(0001) substrates. Elemental composition obtained from time-of-flight energy elastic recoil detection analysis shows an excess of carbon in all films, which is explained by differences in the angular distribution between C, Si, and Ti, where C scatters the least during sputtering. The oxygen content is 2.6 at. % in the film deposited at RT and decreases with increasing deposition temperature, showing that higher temperatures favor high purity films. Chemical bonding analysis by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows C–Ti and Si–C bonding in the Ti3SiC2 films and Si–Si bonding in the Ti3SiC2 compound target. X-ray diffraction reveals that the phases Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5 can be deposited from a Ti3SiC2 compound target at substrate temperatures above 850 °C and with the growth of TiC and the Nowotny phase Ti5Si3Cx at lower temperatures. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy shows epitaxial growth of Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5 on TiC at 970 °C. Four-point probe resistivity measurements give values in the range ∼120 to ∼450 μΩ cm and with the lowest values obtained for films containing Ti3SiC2, Ti4SiC3, and Ti7Si2C5. ; Funding agencies: Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; Swedish Energy Research [43606-1]; Carl Tryggers Foundation [CTS16:303, CTS14:310, CTS 17:166]; Knut