Giant Birefringence
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Giant Birefringence
When values of birefingence are very high, the property is termed giant birefringence which more generically is called giant optical anisotropy. Values for giant birefringence exceed 0.3. Much bigger numbers (over 2.0) are termed "colossal birefringence". These are achieved using nanostructures. Some oxides, for example borate or iodate can have high birefringence. Also compounds containing C=O bonds have higher levels. These include oxalates, squarates and cyanurates. One trade-off is with band gap. If the band gap is small, then the material is not transparent to visible light, but can be transparent for infrared. Chalgogenides may have high birefringence, but only in the infrared. Halide perovskites A perovskite is a crystalline material of formula ABX3 with a crystal structure similar to that of Perovskite, the mineral perovskite, this latter consisting of calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). The mineral was first discovered in the Ural Moun ... such as CsPbBrxCl3−x have ...
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Birefringence
Birefringence, also called double refraction, is the optical property of a material having a refractive index that depends on the polarization and propagation direction of light. These optically anisotropic materials are described as birefringent or birefractive. The birefringence is often quantified as the maximum difference between refractive indices exhibited by the material. Crystals with non-cubic crystal structures are often birefringent, as are plastics under mechanical stress. Birefringence is responsible for the phenomenon of double refraction whereby a ray of light, when incident upon a birefringent material, is split by polarization into two rays taking slightly different paths. This effect was first described by Danish scientist Rasmus Bartholin in 1669, who observed it in Iceland spar (calcite) crystals which have one of the strongest birefringences. In the 19th century Augustin-Jean Fresnel described the phenomenon in terms of polarization, understanding ...
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Borate
A borate is any of a range of boron oxyanions, anions containing boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate , metaborate , or tetraborate ; or any salt of such anions, such as sodium metaborate, and borax . The name also refers to esters of such anions, such as trimethyl borate . Natural occurrence Borate ions occur, alone or with other anions, in many borate and borosilicate minerals such as borax, boracite, ulexite (boronatrocalcite) and colemanite. Borates also occur in seawater, contributing to the absorption of low-frequency sound in seawater. Common borate salts include sodium metaborate (NaBO2) and borax. Borax is soluble in water, so mineral deposits only occur in places with very low rainfall. Extensive deposits were found in Death Valley and shipped with twenty-mule teams from 1883 to 1889. In 1925, deposits were found at Boron, California on the edge of the Mojave Desert. The Atacama Desert in Chile also contains mineable borate concentrations. Borates ...
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Iodate
An iodate is the polyatomic anion with the formula . It is the most common form of iodine in nature, as it comprises the major iodine-containing ores. Iodate salts are often colorless. They are the salts of iodic acid. Structure Iodate is pyramidal in structure. The O–I–O angles range from 97° to 105°, somewhat smaller than the O–Cl–O angles in chlorate. Reactions Redox Iodate is one of several oxyanions of iodine, and has an oxidation number of +5. It participates in several redox reactions, such as the iodine clock reaction. Iodate shows no tendency to disproportionate to periodate and iodide, in contrast to the situation for chlorate. Iodate is reduced by sulfite: : Iodate oxidizes iodide in acidic conditions: : Similarly, chlorate oxidizes iodide to iodate: : Iodate is also obtained by reducing a periodate with a sulfide. The byproduct of the reaction is a sulfoxide. Acid-base Iodate is unusual in that it forms a strong hydrogen bond with its parent ac ...
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Oxalate
Oxalate (systematic IUPAC name: ethanedioate) is an anion with the chemical formula . This dianion is colorless. It occurs naturally, including in some foods. It forms a variety of salts, for example sodium oxalate (), and several esters such as dimethyl oxalate (). It is a conjugate base of oxalic acid. At neutral pH in aqueous solution, oxalic acid converts completely to oxalate. Relationship to oxalic acid The dissociation of protons from oxalic acid proceeds in a determined order; as for other polyprotic acids, loss of a single proton results in the monovalent hydrogenoxalate anion . A salt with this anion is sometimes called an acid oxalate, monobasic oxalate, or hydrogen oxalate. The equilibrium constant ( ''K''a) for loss of the first proton is ( p''K''a = 1.27). The loss of the second proton, which yields the oxalate ion, has an equilibrium constant of (p''K''a = 4.28). These values imply, in solutions with neutral pH, no oxalic acid and only t ...
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Squaric Acid
Squaric acid or quadratic acid (so named because its four carbon atoms approximately form a square) is a diprotic organic acid with the chemical formula . The conjugate base of squaric acid is the hydrogensquarate anion ; and the conjugate base of the hydrogensquarate anion is the divalent squarate anion . This is one of the oxocarbon anions, which consist only of carbon and oxygen. Squaric acid is a reagent for chemical synthesis, used for instance to make photosensitive squaraine dyes and inhibitors of protein tyrosine phosphatases. Chemical properties Squaric acid is a white crystalline powder. The onset of thermal decomposition depends on the different thermodynamic conditions such as heating rates. The structure of squaric acid is not a perfect square, as the carbon–carbon bond lengths are not quite equal. The high acidity with p''K''a1 = 1.5 for the first proton and p''K''a2 = 3.4 for the second is attributable to resonance stabilization of the anion. Because the neg ...
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Cyanuric Acid
Cyanuric acid or 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triol is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula (CNOH)3. Like many industrially useful chemicals, this triazine has many synonyms. This white, odorless solid finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides. In 1997, worldwide production was 160 000 tonnes.Klaus Huthmacher, Dieter Most "Cyanuric Acid and Cyanuric Chloride" Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry" 2005, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi 10.1002/14356007.a08 191 Properties and synthesis Properties Cyanuric acid can be viewed as the cyclic trimer (chemistry), trimer of the elusive chemical species Isocyanic acid#cyanicacid2025-03-05, cyanic acid, HOCN. The ring can readily interconvert between several chemical structure, structures via Lactam#Lactam–lactim tautomerism, lactam–lactim tautomerism. Although the triol tautomer may have aromatic character, the keto form predominates in solution. The hydroxyl (-OH) groups ...
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Band Gap
In solid-state physics and solid-state chemistry, a band gap, also called a bandgap or energy gap, is an energy range in a solid where no electronic states exist. In graphs of the electronic band structure of solids, the band gap refers to the energy difference (often expressed in electronvolts) between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band in insulators and semiconductors. It is the energy required to promote an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. The resulting conduction-band electron (and the electron hole in the valence band) are free to move within the crystal lattice and serve as charge carriers to conduct electric current. It is closely related to the HOMO/LUMO gap in chemistry. If the valence band is completely full and the conduction band is completely empty, then electrons cannot move within the solid because there are no available states. If the electrons are not free to move within the crystal lattice, then there ...
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Chalcogenide
: 220px, Cadmium sulfide, a prototypical metal chalcogenide, is used as a yellow pigment. A chalcogenide is a chemical compound consisting of at least one chalcogen anion and at least one more electropositive element. Although all group 16 elements of the periodic table are defined as chalcogens, the term chalcogenide is more commonly reserved for sulfides, selenides, tellurides, and polonides, rather than oxides. Many metal ores exist as chalcogenides. Photoconductive chalcogenide glasses are used in xerography. Some pigments and catalysts are also based on chalcogenides. The metal dichalcogenide MoS2 is a common solid lubricant. Alkali metal and alkaline earth chalcogenides Alkali metal and alkaline earth monochalcogenides are salt-like, being colourless and often water-soluble. The sulfides tend to undergo hydrolysis to form derivatives containing bisulfide (SH−) anions. The alkali metal chalcogenides often crystallize with the antifluorite structure and the alkal ...
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Perovskite (structure)
A perovskite is a crystalline material of formula ABX3 with a crystal structure similar to that of the mineral perovskite, this latter consisting of calcium titanium oxide (CaTiO3). The mineral was first discovered in the Ural mountains of Russia by Gustav Rose in 1839 and named after Russian mineralogist L. A. Perovski (1792–1856). In addition to being one of the most abundant structural families, perovskites have wide-ranging properties and applications. Structure Perovskite structures are adopted by many compounds that have the chemical formula ABX3. 'A' and 'B' are positively charged ions (i.e. cations), often of very different sizes, and X is a negatively charged ion (an anion, frequently oxide) that bonds to both cations. The 'A' atoms are generally larger than the 'B' atoms. The ideal cubic structure has the B cation in 6-fold coordination, surrounded by an octahedron of anions, and the A cation in 12-fold cuboctahedral coordination. Additional perovskite for ...
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Hexagonal Boron Nitride
Boron nitride is a thermally and chemically resistant refractory compound of boron and nitrogen with the chemical formula B N. It exists in various crystalline forms that are isoelectronic to a similarly structured carbon lattice. The hexagonal form corresponding to graphite is the most stable and soft among BN polymorphs, and is therefore used as a lubricant and an additive to cosmetic products. The cubic ( zincblende aka sphalerite structure) variety analogous to diamond is called c-BN; it is softer than diamond, but its thermal and chemical stability is superior. The rare wurtzite BN modification is similar to lonsdaleite but slightly softer than the cubic form. Because of excellent thermal and chemical stability, boron nitride ceramics are used in high-temperature equipment and metal casting. Boron nitride has potential use in nanotechnology. History Boron nitride was discovered by chemistry teacher of the Liverpool Institute in 1842 via reduction of boric acid with c ...
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Vanadium(IV) Oxide
Vanadium(IV) oxide or vanadium dioxide is an inorganic compound with the formula VO2. It is a dark blue solid. Vanadium(IV) dioxide is amphoteric, dissolving in non-oxidising acids to give the blue vanadyl ion, [VO]2+ and in alkali to give the brown [V4O9]2− ion, or at high pH [VO4]4−. VO2 has a phase transition at . Electrical resistivity, opacity, etc, can change by several orders of magnitude. Owing to these properties, it has been used in surface coating, sensors, and imaging. Potential applications include use in memory devices, phase-change switches, passive radiative cooling applications, such as smart windows and roofs, that cool or warm depending on temperature, aerospace communication systems and neuromorphic computing. It occurs in nature as the mineral paramontroseite. Properties Structure At temperatures below Tc = , has a monoclinic (space group P21/c) crystal structure. Above Tc, the structure is tetragonal, like rutile . In the monoclinic phase, the V4+ io ...
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Sodium Rhodizonate Test
Sodium is a chemical element; it has symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable isotope is 23Na. The free metal does not occur in nature and must be prepared from compounds. Sodium is the sixth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and exists in numerous minerals such as feldspars, sodalite, and halite (NaCl). Many salts of sodium are highly water-soluble: sodium ions have been leached by the action of water from the Earth's minerals over eons, and thus sodium and chlorine are the most common dissolved elements by weight in the oceans. Sodium was first isolated by Humphry Davy in 1807 by the electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. Among many other useful sodium compounds, sodium hydroxide (lye) is used in soap manufacture, and sodium chloride (edible salt) is a de-icing agent and a nutrient for animals including humans. So ...
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