A facile one-pot aqueous solution method has been developed for the fast and straightforward synthesis of SnTe nanoparticles in more than ten gram quantities per batch. The synthesis involves boiling an alkaline Na₂SnO₂ solution and a NaHTe solution for short time scales, in which the NaOH concentration and reaction duration play vital roles in controlling the phase purity and particle size, respectively. Spark plasma sintering of the SnTe nanoparticles produces nanostructured compacts that have a comparable thermoelectric performance to bulk counterparts synthesised by more time- and energy-intensive methods. This approach, combining an energy-efficient, surfactant-free solution synthesis with spark plasma sintering, provides a simple, rapid, and inexpensive route to p-type SnTe nanostructured materials. Full article

The storage of hydrogen is considered as the bottleneck in the implementation of portable fuel cell power generating systems. The necessary experimental studies to discover and develop appropriate storage materials are always time-limited. We discuss herein the approach of an uncomplicated and accessible computationally based analysis of database knowledge towards the identification of promising storage systems. The open access policy of the Crystallography Open Database (COD) invites researchers to grasp the opportunity to formulate targeted analyses of crystalline solids, unfettered by material resources. We apply such an approach to the initial evaluation of potential solid-state hydrogen stores, although the method could potentially be transferred to other material analysis tasks. Full article

Ruthenium oxide nano-catalysts supported on mesoporous γ-Al₂O₃ have been prepared by co-precipitation method and tested for CO oxidation. The effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the properties of the catalyst was studied. Addition of the PEG surfactant acted as a stabilizer and induced a change in the morphology of ruthenium oxide from spherical nanoparticles to one-dimensional nanorods. Total CO conversion was measured as a function of morphology at 175 °C and 200 °C with 1.0 wt.% loading for PEG-stabilized and un-stabilized catalysts, respectively. Conversion routinely increased with temperature but in each case, the PEG-stabilized catalyst exhibited a notably higher catalytic activity as compared to the un-stabilized equivalent. It can be assumed that the increase in the activity is due to the changes in porosity, shape and dispersion of the catalyst engendered by the use of PEG. Full article

Solid-state reactions between sodium hydride and sodium hydroxide are unusual among hydride-hydroxide systems since hydrogen can be stored reversibly. In order to understand the relationship between hydrogen uptake/release properties and phase/structure evolution, the dehydrogenation and hydrogenation behavior of the Na-O-H system has been investigated in detail both ex- and in-situ. Simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis coupled to mass spectrometry (TG-DTA-MS) experiments of NaH-NaOH composites reveal two principal features: Firstly, an H₂ desorption event occurring between 240 and 380 °C and secondly an additional endothermic process at around 170 °C with no associated weight change. In-situ high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction showed that NaOH appears to form a solid solution with NaH yielding a new cubic complex hydride phase below 200 °C. The Na-H-OH phase persists up to the maximum temperature of the in-situ diffraction experiment shortly before dehydrogenation occurs. The present work suggests that not only is the inter-phase synergic interaction of protic hydrogen (in NaOH) and hydridic hydrogen (in NaH) important in the dehydrogenation mechanism, but that also an intra-phase H^δ+… H^δ– interaction may be a crucial step in the desorption process. Full article

The development of new practical hydrogen storage materials with high volumetric and gravimetric hydrogen densities is necessary to implement fuel cell technology for both mobile and stationary applications. NaBH₄, owing to its low cost and high hydrogen density (10.6 wt%), has received extensive attention as a promising hydrogen storage medium. However, its practical use is hampered by its high thermodynamic stability and slow hydrogen exchange kinetics. Recent developments have been made in promoting H₂ release and tuning the thermodynamics of the thermal decomposition of solid NaBH₄. These conceptual advances offer a positive outlook for using NaBH₄-based materials as viable hydrogen storage carriers for mobile applications. This review summarizes contemporary progress in this field with a focus on the fundamental dehydrogenation and rehydrogenation pathways and properties and on material design strategies towards improved kinetics and thermodynamics such as catalytic doping, nano-engineering, additive destabilization and chemical modification. Full article

Lithium nitride hydride, Li₄NH, was synthesised from lithium nitride and lithium hydride over minute timescales, using microwave synthesis methods in the solid state for the first time. The structure of the microwave-synthesised powders was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction [tetragonal space group I4₁/a; a = 4.8864(1) Å, c = 9.9183(2) Å] and the nitride hydride reacts with moist air under ambient conditions to produce lithium hydroxide and subsequently lithium carbonate. Li₄NH undergoes no dehydrogenation or decomposition [under Ar_(g)] below 773 K. A tetragonal–cubic phase transition, however, occurs for the compound at ca. 770 K. The new high temperature (HT) phase adopts an anti-fluorite structure (space group Fm 3̅ m; a = 4.9462(3) Å) with N³⁻ and H⁻ ions disordered on the 4a sites. Thermal treatment of Li₄NH under nitrogen yields a stoichiometric mixture of lithium nitride and lithium imide (Li₃N and Li₂NH respectively). Full article

One of the beauties of inorganic chemistry is its sheer diversity. Just as chemistry sits at the centre of the sciences, inorganic chemistry sits at the centre of chemistry itself. Inorganic chemists are fortunate in having the entire periodic table at their disposal, providing a palette for the creation of a multitude of rich and diverse compounds and materials from the simplest salts to the most complex of molecular species. It follows that the language of inorganic chemistry can thus be a demanding one, accommodating sub-disciplines with very different perspectives and frames of reference. One could argue that it is the unequivocal breadth of inorganic chemistry that empowers inorganic chemists to work at the interfaces, not just between the traditional Inorganic-Organic-Physical boundaries of the discipline, but in the regions where chemistry borders the other physical and life sciences, engineering and socio-economics. [...] Full article