A quaternary medium-entropy spinel oxide, (CrMnFeNi)3O4, was synthesized using a novel two-step metallurgical route comprising arc melting of an alloy precursor and oxidative annealing at 1000°C. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement confirmed the formation of a single-phase spinel structure (Fd3¯m, a = 8.3694 Å). X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that Cr3+ and Ni2+ preferentially occupy octahedral sites, while Fe3+ occupies tetrahedral sites, with manganese distributed across both sublattices to maintain charge neutrality. When evaluated as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, cyclic voltammetry revealed a multi-step lithiation mechanism, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tracked the kinetic evolution and indicated dynamic surface restructuring that enhances active material utilization and facilitates ion transport. The material exhibits stable long-term cycling over 1000 cycles at moderate and high current densities. Post-mortem analysis confirmed the loss of long-range crystalline order of the active material, validating the conversion mechanism.

The increase of fossil fuels use is responsible for the increased greenhouse gas emissions which have a great impact on the environment leading to global warming. Consequently, substantial efforts are devoted to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and there is a growing interest in harnessing the chemical energy from other carbon neutral sources like biomass. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG), which is a catalyst-mediated process, provides a promising method to transform organic streams and wastes into fuels due to the utilization of water as a non-toxic green solvent. However, the process is limited by sulfur impurities that deactivate the catalysts required for efficient conversion. Τhe optimization of SCWG remains challenging because the solvent properties of aqueous mixtures in the supercritical regime are unknown, and they have significant differences while crossing the Widom line, which separates liquid- and gas-like states. In this study, we propose a framework to determine accurate thermodynamic properties for complex systems under supercritical conditions, where experimental data are scarce. We demonstrate that a methodology combining structural characterization experiments, atomistic simulations, and machine learning enables the development of reliable equations of state for systems with previously unknown properties. This approach reveals how the Widom line governs the dissolving power of water and, in turn, controls sulfur speciation in SCWG. By enabling selective sulfur removal and preventing catalyst poisoning, our framework advances the SCWG method as a clean energy technology. More broadly, the methodology is generalizable and can be applied to a wide range of complex fluid systems with poorly understood thermodynamic behavior.

Structural changes of Er- or Yb-ion doped LiNbO3 (LN) nanocrystals were studied in relation to the high-energy ball milling process. The evolution of the size of the particles and the formation of different phases were followed by dynamic light scattering and X-ray diffraction measurements, while the electronic transitions of rare-earth (RE) ions were investigated by absorption spectroscopy in the infrared spectral range. During the milling process, RE ions left the crystal lattice and an RE2O3 phase appeared to an increasing extent next to the LN. The change in the absorption spectra and the phases formed during the grinding process were found to be very similar for both investigated RE ions and were independent of their original concentration in the starting crystal samples. The extent of the RE loss was found to be 90% after 100 min of wet grinding.

Controlling Li ion transport in glasses at atomic and molecular levels is key to realizing all-solid-state batteries, a promising technology for electric vehicles. In this context, Li3PS4 glass, a promising solid electrolyte candidate, exhibits dynamic coupling between the Li+ cation mobility and the PS43− anion libration, which is commonly referred to as the paddlewheel effect. In addition, it exhibits a concerted cation diffusion effect (i.e., a cation–cation interaction), which is regarded as the essence of high Li ion transport. However, the correlation between the Li+ ions within the glass structure can only be vaguely determined, due to the limited experimental information that can be obtained. Here, this study reports that the Li ions present in glasses can be classified by evaluating their valence oscillations via Bader analysis to topologically analyze the chemical bonds. It is found that three types of Li ions are present in Li3PS4 glass, and that the more mobile Li ions (i.e., the Li3-type ions) exhibit a characteristic correlation at relatively long distances of 4.0–5.0 Å. Furthermore, reverse Monte Carlo simulations combined with deep learning potentials that reproduce X-ray, neutron, and electron diffraction pair distribution functions showed an increase in the number of Li3-type ions for partially crystallized glass structures with improved Li ion transport properties. Our results show order within the disorder of the Li ion distribution in the glass by a topological analysis of their valences. Thus, considering the molecular vibrations in the glass during the evaluation of the Li ion valences is expected to lead to the development of new solid electrolytes.

This study examined the clustering behavior of monohydroxy alcohols, where hydrogen-bonded clusters of up to a hundred molecules on the nanoscale can form. By performing X-ray diffraction experiments at different temperatures and under high pressure, we investigated how these conditions affect the ability of alcohols to form clusters. The pioneering high-pressure experiment performed on liquid alcohols contributes to the emerging knowledge in this field. Implementation of molecular dynamics simulations yielded excellent agreement with the experimental results, enabling the analysis of theoretical models. Here we show that at the same global density achieved either by alteration of pressure or temperature, the local aggregation of molecules at the nanoscale may significantly differ. Surprisingly, high pressure not only promotes the formation of hydrogen-bonded clusters but also induces the serious reorganization of molecules. This research represents a milestone in understanding association under extreme thermodynamic conditions in other hydrogen bonding systems such as water.

In the realm of advanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, this study explores the electrochemical performance of a high-entropy oxide (HEO) with a unique spinel structure. The equiatomic composition of CrMnFeCoCu was synthesized and subjected to a comprehensive materials characterization process, including X-ray diffraction and microscopy techniques. The multicomponent alloy exhibited a multiphase structure, comprising two face-centered cubic (FCC) phases and an oxide phase. Upon oxidation, the material transformed into a spinel oxide with a minor presence of CuO. The resulting high-entropy oxide demonstrated excellent electrochemical behavior when utilized as an anode material. Cyclic voltammetry revealed distinctive reduction peaks attributed to cation reduction and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer formation, while subsequent cycles showcased high reversibility. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicated a decrease in charge transfer resistance during cycling, emphasizing the remarkable electrochemical performance. Galvanostatic charge/discharge tests displayed characteristic voltage profiles, with an initial irreversible capacity attributed to SEI layer formation. The HEO exhibited promising rate capability, surpassing commercial graphite at higher current densities. The battery achieved 80% (275 mAh g−1) of its initial stable capacity at a current density of 500 mA g−1 by the 312th cycle. Post-mortem analysis revealed structural amorphization during cycling, contributing to the observed electrochemical behavior. This research highlights the potential of HEOs as advanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, combining unique structural features with favorable electrochemical properties.

The hydrogen-bonded structure of methanol - water mixtures is investigated over the entire alcohol concentration range (from xMethanol = 0.1 to 1.0) at several temperatures, from 300 K down to the freezing point of the given mixture. Classical molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out, using the all-atom OPLS-AA force field for methanol and the TIP4P/2005 model for water molecules. Simulation trajectories ('particle configurations') obtained have been analyzed, in order to characterize the hydrogen-bonded network in the mixtures. The temperature and concentration dependence of the average hydrogen bond (H-bond) numbers between different types of molecules, the donor/acceptor roles of water and methanol molecules, and hydrogen bond number distributions have been revealed. The topology of the total system, as well as that of the water and methanol subsystems, has been investigated by calculating the cluster size distributions, the number of primitive rings, and ring size and ring type distributions. It has been found that upon cooling, the average number of Hbonded water molecules increases at every concentration and temperature investigated. As far as the connectivity of the hydrogen-bonded network is concerned, the percolation threshold has been shown to be above xM = 0.9 already at room temperature.

New resorbable Ca32Mg12Zn38Yb18-2xBxAux (x = 1,2) alloys were designed and prepared in order to verify their use for medical applications as potential short-term implants. Their amorphous structure containing some crystalline phases (CaZn, CaZn2 and MgZn) was determined by X-ray and neutron diffraction and electron microscopy methods. The biocorrosion behavior of the plates was tested by hydrogen evolution measurements, immersion, electrochemical polarization tests, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in Ringer's solution at 37 °C. The corrosion analysis was also supplemented by X-ray diffraction, photoelectron, and ICP-AES spectroscopy. The corrosion resistivity measurements revealed that the alloys manifest enhanced corrosion resistance. The corrosion current density for Ca32Mg12Zn38Yb18-2xBxAux (x = 1, 2) alloys were 18.46 and 8.79 μA/cm2, which is lower than for pure Mg (47.85 μA/cm2) and Zn (33.96 μA/cm2). A decreasing tendency for hydrogen to evolve as a function of time was noted. The hydrogen evolution did not exceed 1 ml/cm2 over 1 h and average corrosion rate is calculated as 0.32 g/m2 . h for Ca32Mg12Zn38Yb14B2Au2 alloy after 312 h. The corrosion mechanism of the alloys includes an anodic dissolution, a hydroxide precipitation, corrosion product layer formation and corrosion propagation stage.

Following a demonstration of how neutron diffraction with polarization analysis may be applied for the accurate determination of the coherent static structure factor of disordered materials containing substantial amounts of proton nuclei (Temleitner et al., Phys. Rev. B 92, 014201, 2015), we now focus on the incoherent scattering. Incoherent contributions are responsible for the great difficulties while processing standard (non-polarized) neutron diffraction data from hydrogenous materials, hence the importance of the issue. Here we report incoherent scattering intensities for liquid acetone, cyclohexane, methanol and water, as function of the 1H/H ratio. The incoherent intensities are determined directly by polarized neutron diffraction. This way, possible variations of the incoherent background due to the changing chemical environment may be monitored. In addition, for some of the water samples, incoherent intensities as a function of the wavelength of the incident neutron beam (at 0.4, 0.5 and 0.8 Å) have also been measured. It is found that in each case, the incoherent intensity can be described by a single Gaussian function, within statistical errors. The (full) width (at half maximum) of the Gaussians clearly depends on the applied wavelength. On the other hand, the different bonding environments of hydrogen atoms do not seem to affect the width of the Gaussian.

Aqueous mixtures of 1-propanol have been investigated by high-energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction upon cooling. X-ray weighted total scattering structure factors of 6 mixtures, from 8 mol% to 89 mol% alcohol content, as well as that of pure 1-propanol are reported from room temperature down to the freezing points of the liquids. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed, in order to interpret measured data. The all atom OPLS-AA potential model was used for 1-propanol, combined with both the SPC/E and the TIP4P/2005 water models: both combinations provide a semi-quantitative description of the measured total structure factors at low and high alcohol contents, while the agreement is qualitative for the mixture with 71 mol% of 1-propanol. From the simulated particle configurations, partial radial distribution functions were calculated. Furthermore, detailed description of the hydrogen bonded network is provided, in terms of hydrogen bond numbers, analysis of proton donor-acceptor ratios, size distributions of hydrogen bonded clusters and ring size statistics. Strong temperature dependence of the percolation threshold, as well as of the participation of the number of doubly hydrogen bonded molecules in cyclic entities, has been found for the mixture with 89 mol% of 1-propanol. Above an alcohol content of 20 mol%, 5-fold rings are the most frequent cyclic entities, with a strong temperature dependence in terms of the number of rings. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

The aim of the work was to characterize the structure of Al65Cu20Fe15 alloy obtained with the use of conventional casting and rapid solidification-melt-spinning technology. Based on the literature data, the possibility of an icosahedral quasicrystalline phase forming in the Al-Cu-Fe was verified. Structure analysis was performed based on the results of X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, 57Fe Mössbauer and transmission electron microscopy. Studies using differential scanning calorimetry were carried out to describe the crystallization mechanism. Additionally, electrochemical tests were performed in order to characterize the influence of the structure and cooling rate on the corrosion resistance. On the basis of the structural studies, the formation of a metastable icosahedral phase and partial amorphous state of ribbon structure were demonstrated. The possibility of the formation of icosahedral quasicrystalline phase I-AlCuFe together with the crystalline phases was indicated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), neutron diffraction (ND) patterns, Mössbauer spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) observations and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. The beneficial effect of the application of rapid solidification on the corrosive properties was also confirmed.

The orientational correlation scheme introduced earlier for tetrahedral molecules is extended for being able to classify orientational correlations between pairs of high symmetry molecules. While in the original algorithm a given orientation of a pair of tetrahedral molecules is characterized unambiguously by the number of ligand atoms that can be found between two planes that contain each centre and perpendicular to the centre-centre connecting line, in the generalized algorithm, the planes are replaced by cones, whose apex angles are set according to the symmetry of each molecule. To demonstrate the applicability of the method, the octahedral-shaped SF_6 molecule is studied in a wide range of phases (gaseous, supercritical fluid, liquid and plastic crystalline) using classical molecular dynamics. By analyzing the orientational correlations, a close-contact region in the first coordination shell and a medium-range order behaviour are identified in the non-crystalline phases. While the former is invariant to changes of the density, the latter showed longer-ranged correlations as density is raised. In the plastic crystalline state, fluorine atoms are oriented along the lattice directions with higher probability. To test the method for icosahedral symmetries, the crystalline structures of room temperature C_60 is generated by three sets of potentials that produce different local arrangements. The novel analysis provided quantitative result on preferred arrangements.

New X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments have been performed on ethanol-water mixtures as a function of decreasing temperature, so that such diffraction data are now available over the entire composition range. Extensive molecular dynamics simulations show that the all-atom interatomic potentials applied are adequate for gaining insight of the hydrogen bonded network structure, as well as of its changes on cooling. Various tools have been exploited for revealing details concerning hydrogen bonding, like determining H-bond acceptor and donor sites, calculating cluster size distributions and cluster topologies, as well as computing the Laplace spectra and fractal dimensions of the networks. It is found that 5-membered hydrogen bonded cycles are dominant up to an ethanol content of 70% at room temperature, above which concentration ring structures nearly disappear. Percolation has been given special attention, so that it could be shown that at low temperature, close to the freezing point even the mixture with 90% ethanol possesses a 3D percolating network. Moreover, the water sub-network also percolates even at room temperature, with a percolation transition occurring around 50% ethanol.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements have been conducted on aqueous mixtures of propan-2-ol (a.k.a. isopropanol, or 2-propanol), for alcohol contents between 10 and 90 mol%, from room temperature down to 230 K. Molecular dynamics simulations, by using an all-atom parametrization of the propan-2-ol molecule and the well-known TIP4P/2005 water model, were able to provide semi-quantitative descriptions of the measured total structure factors. Various quantities related to hydrogen bonding, like hydrogen bond numbers, size distribution of cyclic entities and cluster size distributions, have been determined from the particle co-ordinates obtained from the simulations. The percolation threshold at room temperature could be estimated to be between isopropanol concentrations of 62 and 74 mol%, whereas at very low temperature, calculations yielded a value above 90 mol%. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The structures of the plastic crystal (PC), orientational glass (OTG), liquid (LQ) and ordinary glass (OG) phases of 1,6-anhydro-β- d -glucopyranose (levoglucosan) have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and molecular modeling. The experimental diffraction data in the forms of static structure factors and pair distribution functions are analyzed in reciprocal and real spaces and compared with results of model-based simulations. A new approach to modeling the structure of the disordered phases, taking into account the intermolecular scattering contribution in the form of sharp Bragg peaks, the slowly varying intensity associated with intramolecular correlations and the diffusive component resulting from structural disorder, is applied. In the case of the LQ and OG samples, reverse Monte Carlo simulations are also used. The PC and OTG phases show long-range ordering of the hexagonal close-packed (hcp)-type structure up to 120 Å with random orientation of the molecules. Assuming a rigid molecular skeleton, isotropic free rotations of the molecules about their geometrical center in full and limited angular ranges are generated in theoretical models of the structure. It is demonstrated that the adoption of free rotations of the molecules leads to the best fits to experimental data for each studied phase of levoglucosan. The diffraction patterns of the LQ and OG samples show a relatively sharp first peak originating from quasi-Bragg planes of the densely packed face-centered cubic (fcc) type molecular arrangement. Moreover, the slowly varied intensity component of LQ and OG is practically the same as that of PC and OTG, suggesting that the intramolecular structure of these four phases does not change. Interestingly, structural correlations for the disordered LQ and OG states extend surprisingly far, up to about 50 Å. In addition, for all levoglucosan phases investigated, the paracrystalline disorder imposed on the generated models resulted in better compliance with the experimental data.

Amorphous alloys consisting of elements present in the human body, such as magnesium, zinc and calcium, are currently extensively studied in order to utilize them as a material for biodegradable orthopaedic implants. amongst all Mg-Zn-Ca alloys investigated up to date, the Mg66Zn30Ca4 composition has the greatest potential for applications. Its critical casting thickness reaches a value of 5 mm, the compressive strength (716-854 MPa) is about 4 times the limit of human cortical bone while elastic modulus is (31 GPa) is only 3 times higher than that of human bone. During dissolution the alloy shows only marginal hydrogen evolution. Here we present a detailed, experiment-based structural investigation of Mg66Zn30Ca4. Structural and topological analysis of its atomic structure reveals a high number of predominantly icosahedral densely packed Zn-centred clusters. It is believed that the existence of these structural units is responsible for the suppression of internal diffusion and thus greatly improves glass formability.

Total scattering structure factors of per-deuterated methanol and heavy water, CD3OD and D2O, have been determined across the entire composition range as a function of pressure up to 1.2 GPa, by neutron diffraction. The largest variations due to increasing pressure were observed below a scattering variable value of 5 Å−1, mostly as shifts in terms of the positions of the first and second maxima. Molecular dynamics computer simulations, using combinations of all-atom potentials for methanol and various water force fields, were conducted at the experimental pressures with the aim of interpreting neutron diffraction results. The peak-position shifts mentioned above could be qualitatively reproduced by simulations, although in terms of peak intensities, the accord between neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics was much less satisfactory. However, bearing in mind that increasing pressure must have a profound effect on repulsive forces between neighboring molecules, the agreement between experiment and computer simulation can certainly be termed as satisfactory. In order to reveal the influence of changing pressure on local intermolecular structure in these “simplest of complex” hydrogen-bonded liquid mixtures, simulated structures were analyzed in terms of hydrogen bond-related partial radial distribution functions and size distributions of hydrogen-bonded cyclic entities. Distinct differences between pressure-dependent structures of water-rich and methanol-rich composition regions were revealed.

Methanol-water liquid mixtures have been investigated by high-energy synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction at low temperatures. We are thus able to report the first complete sets of both X-ray and neutron weighted total scattering structure factors over the entire composition range (at 12 different methanol concentrations (x(M)) from 10 to 100 mol%) and at temperatures from ambient down to the freezing points of the mixtures. The new diffraction data may later be used as reference in future theoretical and simulation studies. The measured data are interpreted by molecular dynamics simulations, in which the all atom OPLS/AA force field model for methanol is combined with both the SPC/E and TIP4P/2005 water potentials. Although the TIP4P/2005 water model was found to be somewhat more successful, both combinations provide at least semi-quantitative agreement with measured diffraction data. From the simulated particle configurations, partial radial distribution functions, as well as various distributions of the number of hydrogen bonds have been determined. As a general trend, the average number of hydrogen bonds increases upon cooling. However, the number of hydrogen bonds between methanol molecules slightly decreases with lowering temperatures in the concentration range between ca. 30 and 60 mol% alcohol content. The same is valid for water-water hydrogen bonds above 70 mol% of methanol content, from room temperature down to 193 K. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Very low density eutectic Ca72Mg28 at.% alloy is a precursor of complex biodegradable alloys with potential use as bioresorbable alloy for orthopaedic applications. The structure of the amorphous alloy was investigated by using X-ray, neutron diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modelling. The RMC configuration was decomposed into polyhedral holes whose faces are all triangles consisting of chemical bonds. Free volumes in the respective polyhedral holes were evaluated with reference to the packing efficiency of crystalline CaMg2 HCP phase. The tetrahedral holes, accounting for about 55% of the whole space, are regarded as densely packed units because the average packing efficiency of them is approximately equal to that of the corresponding crystal phase. At the same time, various types of polyhedral holes which have a certain free volume have been observed, and some of them are connected with each other. The densely packed coordination polyhedra consisting only of tetrahedral holes tend to be clustered.

HYPOTHESIS:The structural details, viscosity trends and dynamic phenomena in t-butanol/water solutions are closely related on the molecular scales across the entire composition range. Utilizing the experimental small- and wide-angle x-ray scattering (SWAXS) method, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the 'complemented-system approach' method developed in our group it is possible to comprehensively describe the structure-viscosity-dynamics relationship in such structurally versatile hydrogen-bonded molecular liquids, as well as in similar, self-assembling systems with pronounced molecular and supramolecular structures at the intra-, inter-, and supra-molecular scales.EXPERIMENTS:The SWAXS and x-ray diffraction experiments and MD simulations were performed for aqueous t-butanol solutions at 25 °C. Literature viscosity and self-diffusion data were also used.FINDINGS:The interpretive power of the proposed scheme was demonstrated by the extensive and diverse results obtained for aqueous t-butanol solutions across the whole concentration range. Four composition ranges with qualitatively different structures and viscosity trends were revealed. The experimental and calculated zero-shear viscosities and molecular self-diffusion coefficients were successfully related to the corresponding structural details. The hydrogen bonds that were, along with hydrophobic effects, recognized as the most important driving force for the formation of t-butanol aggregates, show intriguing lifetime trends and thermodynamic properties of their formation.