title: A Strategy for Hydroxide Exclusion in Nanocrystalline Solid-State Metathesis Products.
abstract: We demonstrate a simple strategy to either prevent or enhance hydroxide incorporation in nanocrystalline solid-state metathesis reaction products prepared in ambient environments. As an example, we show that ZnCO3(smithsonite) or Zn₅(CO₃)₂(OH)₆ (hydrozincite) forms extremely rapidly, in less than two minutes, to form crystalline domains of 11 ± 2 nm and 6 ± 2 nm, respectively. The phase selectivity between these nanocrystalline products is dominated by the alkalinity of the hydrated precursor salts, which may in turn affect the availability of carbon dioxide during the reaction. Thus, unlike traditional aqueous precipitation reactions, our solid-state method offers a way to produce hydroxide-free, nanocrystalline products without active pH control.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B3X7, Canada. jiaqic@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Jiaqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B3X7, Canada. kris@mun.ca.|Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1B3X7, Canada. kris@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Kristin M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Poduska
keywords: X-ray diffraction; metathesis; nanoparticles; solid-state synthesis; vibrational spectroscopy