A molecular cross-linking approach for hybrid metal oxides.
Dahee JungLiban M A SalehZachariah J BerksonMaher F El-KadyJee Youn HwangNahla MohamedAlex I WixtromEkaterina TitarenkoYanwu ShaoKassandra McCarthyJian GuoIgnacio B MartiniStephan KraemerEvan C WegenerPhilippe Saint-CricqBastian RuehleRyan R LangeslayMassimiliano DelferroJonathan L BrosmerChristopher H HendonMarcus Gallagher-JonesJosé A RodriguezKarena W ChapmanJeffrey T MillerXiangfeng DuanRichard B KanerJeffrey I ZinkBradley F ChmelkaAlexander M SpokoynyPublished in: Nature materials (2018)
There is significant interest in the development of methods to create hybrid materials that transform capabilities, in particular for Earth-abundant metal oxides, such as TiO2, to give improved or new properties relevant to a broad spectrum of applications. Here we introduce an approach we refer to as 'molecular cross-linking', whereby a hybrid molecular boron oxide material is formed from polyhedral boron-cluster precursors of the type [B12(OH)12]2-. This new approach is enabled by the inherent robustness of the boron-cluster molecular building block, which is compatible with the harsh thermal and oxidizing conditions that are necessary for the synthesis of many metal oxides. In this work, using a battery of experimental techniques and materials simulation, we show how this material can be interfaced successfully with TiO2 and other metal oxides to give boron-rich hybrid materials with intriguing photophysical and electrochemical properties.
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