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TiO₂-II is a high pressure form of titania with a density about 2% larger than that of rutile. In contrast to the common polymorphs anatase, brookite and rutile its electronic structure and optical properties are poorly characterized. Here we report on a comparative electron-energy-loss-spectroscopy (EELS) study for which high resolution valence-loss and core-loss EELS data were acquired from nanocrystalline (<75 ​nm sized) titania particles with an energy resolution of about 0.2 ​eV. Electronic structure features revealed from titanium L_3,2 and oxygen K electron energy loss near-edge structures show a strong similarity of TiO₂-II with both rutile and brookite, which is attributed to similarities in the connectivity of octahedral TiO₆ units with neighboring ones. From combined valence-loss EELS and UV-VIS diffuse reflectance spectroscopy data the band gap of TiO₂-II was determined to be indirect and with a magnitude of ∼3.18 ​eV, which is very similar to anatase (indirect, ∼3.2 ​eV), and distinctly different from rutile (direct, ∼3.05 ​eV) and brookite (direct, ∼3.45 ​eV).

Type II clathrate hydrates (CHs) with tetrahydrofuran (THF), cyclobutanone (CB) or 1,3-dioxolane (DXL) guest molecules collapse to an amorphous state near 1 GPa on pressurization below 140 K. On subsequent heating in the 0.2-0.7 GPa range, thermal conductivity and heat capacity results of the homogeneous amorphous solid show two glass transitions, first a thermally weak glass transition, GT1, near 130 K; thereafter a thermally strong glass transition, GT2, which implies a transformation to an ultraviscous liquid on heating. Here we compare the GTs of normal and deuterated samples and samples with different guest molecules. The results show that GT1 and GT2 are unaffected by deuteration of the THF guest and exchange of THF with CB or DXL, whereas the glass transition temperatures (T_gs) shift to higher temperatures on deuteration of water; T_g of GT2 increases by 2.5 K. These results imply that both GTs are associated with the water network. This is corroborated by the fact that GT2 is detected only in the state which is the amorphized CH's counterpart of expanded high density amorphous ice. The results suggest a rare transition sequence of an orientational glass transition followed by a glass to liquid transition, i.e., kinetic unfreezing of H₂O reorientational and translational mobility in two distinct processes.

A new method for stirring under high pressure conditions has been developed and tested. The key component is a Teflon cell assembly equipped with magnetic stirring function, which is capable to operate across a wide pressure range, up to at least 2 GPa, in a large volume press. The setup enables adjustable stirrer rotation rate and detection of stirring in a sample,e.g.to observe liquid-solid phase transitions at high pressure. The viscosity limit of stirring is ca. 500 times that of water at room temperature (i.e.similar to 500 mPas). Moreover, we show that zinc oxide nanoparticles hydrothermally synthesized at 0.5 GPa and 100 degrees C under stirring conditions show an order of magnitude smaller size (100 nm) compared to those synthesized under non-stirring conditions (1 mu m). The wide pressure range for stirring of viscous media opens interesting possibilities to produce novel materials via hydrothermal synthesis and chemical reactions.

Layered zinc hydroxides (LZHs) with the general formula (Zn²⁺)_x(OH^–)_2x−my(A^m–)_y·nH₂O (A^m– = Cl^–, NO₃^–, ac^–, SO₄^2–, etc) are considered as useful precursors for the fabrication of functional ZnO nanostructures. Here, we report the synthesis and structure characterization of the hitherto unknown “binary” representative of the LZH compound family, Zn₅(OH)₁₀·2H₂O, with A^m– = OH^–, x = 5, y = 2, and n = 2. Zn₅(OH)₁₀·2H₂O was afforded quantitatively by pressurizing mixtures of ε-Zn(OH)₂ (wulfingite) and water to 1–2 GPa and applying slightly elevated temperatures, 100–200 °C. The monoclinic crystal structure was characterized from powder X-ray diffraction data (space group C2/c, a = 15.342(7) Å, b = 6.244(6) Å, c = 10.989(7) Å, β = 100.86(1)°). It features neutral zinc hydroxide layers, composed of octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated Zn ions with a 3:2 ratio, in which H₂O is intercalated. The interlayer d(200) distance is 7.53 Å. The H-bond structure of Zn₅(OH)₁₀·2H₂O was analyzed by a combination of infrared/Raman spectroscopy, computational modeling, and neutron powder diffraction. Interlayer H₂O molecules are strongly H-bonded to five surrounding OH groups and appear orientationally disordered. The decomposition of Zn₅(OH)₁₀·2H₂O, which occurs thermally between 70 and 100 °C, was followed in an in situ transmission electron microscopy study and ex situ annealing experiments. It yields initially 5–15 nm sized hexagonal w-ZnO crystals, which, depending on the conditions, may intergrow to several hundred nm-large two-dimensional, flakelike crystals within the boundary of original Zn₅(OH)₁₀·2H₂O particles.

Type II clathrate hydrates (CHs) were studied by thermal and dielectric measurements. All CHs amorphize, or collapse, on pressurization to 1.3 GPa below 135 K. After heating to 160 K at 1 GPa, the stability of the amorphous states increases in a process similar to the gradual high density to very high density amorphous ice (HDA to VHDA) transition. On a subsequent pressure decrease, the amorphized CHs expand partly irreversibly similar to the gradual VHDA to expanded HDA ice transformation. After further heating at 1 GPa, weak transition features appear near the HDA to low density amorphous ice transition. The results suggest that CH nucleation sites vanish on heating to 160 K at 1 GPa and that a sluggish partial phase-separation process commences on further heating. The collapsed CHs show two glass transitions (GTs), GT1 and GT2. GT1 is weakly pressure-dependent, 12 K GPa(-1), with a relaxation time of 0.3 s at 140 K and 1 GPa; it is associated with a weak heat capacity increase of 3.7 J H2O-mol(-1) K-1 in a 18 K range and an activation energy of only 38 kJ mol(-1) at 1 GPa. The corresponding temperature of GT2 is 159 K at 0.4 GPa with a pressure dependence of 36 K GPa(-1); it shows 5.5 times larger heat capacity increase and 4 times higher activation energy than GT1. GT1 is observed also in HDA and VHDA, whereas GT2 occurs just above the crystallization temperature of expanded HDA and only within its similar to 0.2-0.7 GPa stable pressure range.