Scientists find hidden materials that could improve batteries and solar fuels
Scientists have uncovered a hidden world of “in-between” materials that briefly form as chemical ingredients are heated, revealing structures that conventional methods can miss. Among the discoveries is a previously unknown form of bismuth vanadate, a material widely studied for using sunlight to help produce clean hydrogen. The new version has a different atomic structure and interacts with light in a strikingly…
Key points
- Researchers identified previously unknown intermediate material phases formed during heating of molecular precursors.
- One discovery is a new kinetically stabilized form of bismuth vanadate named β-BiVO4 with a larger band gap.
- Another hidden material could store large amounts of lithium, suggesting possible use in next-generation batteries.
Scientists have discovered previously unknown materials by studying what happens as molecular precursors break apart and transform during heating, according to research published in Nature Communications. The work was carried out by researchers including Dr. Sebastian Pike of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick and Dr. Dominik Kubicki of the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham.
The team began with specially designed single-source precursors, molecules containing all the elements needed to create a material, and monitored how they changed as temperatures increased. This approach revealed several previously unknown material phases that are normally overlooked because scientists usually focus on the final product.
New form of bismuth vanadate
One discovery was a new, kinetically stabilized form of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4), which the researchers named β-BiVO4. BiVO4 has drawn attention in clean energy research because of its band gap, the energy it needs to absorb sunlight and drive chemical reactions, allowing it to absorb sunlight effectively while supplying enough energy to split water and generate clean hydrogen fuel.
The newly identified β-BiVO4 has an atomic arrangement that differs from known forms of the material and a significantly larger band gap, which changes how it interacts with light. The researchers said these differences could offer new ways to adjust materials for solar fuel production, catalysis and electronics.
When materials are made by heating, scientists usually focus on the final product, the 'B' that results from 'A.'
— Dr. Sebastian Pike
Battery and design implications
Another hidden material identified during the experiments was able to store large amounts of lithium, raising the possibility that it could contribute to next-generation batteries. To observe these normally hidden states, the researchers combined solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis.
The results also showed that the precursor chosen at the start and the way it decomposes strongly influence which materials form. By controlling those factors, the researchers suggest it may be possible to produce structures that are difficult to obtain with standard heating methods.
