The adsorptive properties of graphene oxide (GO) towards divalent metal ions (copper, zinc, cadmium and lead) were investigated. GO prepared through the oxidation of graphite using potassium dichromate was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results of batch experiments and measurements by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F-AAS) indicate that maximum adsorption can be achieved in broad pH ranges: 3-7 for Cu(II), 5-8 for Zn(II), 4-8 for Cd(II), 3-7 for Pb(II). The maximum adsorption capacities of Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) on GO at pH = 5 are 294, 345, 530, 1119 mg g(-1), respectively. The competitive adsorption experiments showed the affinity in the order of Pb(II) > Cu(II) ≫ Cd(II) > Zn(II). Adsorption isotherms and kinetic studies suggest that sorption of metal ions on GO nanosheets is monolayer coverage and adsorption is controlled by chemical adsorption involving the strong surface complexation of metal ions with the oxygen-containing groups on the surface of GO. Chemisorption was confirmed by XPS (binding energy and shape of O1s and C1s peaks) of GO with adsorbed metal ions. The adsorption experiments show that the dispersibility of GO in water changes remarkably after complexation of metal ions. After adsorption, the tendency to agglomerate and precipitate is observed. Excellent dispersibility of GO and strong tendency of GO-Me(II) to precipitate open the path to removal of heavy metals from water solution. Potential application of GO in analytical chemistry as a solid sorbent for preconcentration of trace elements and in heavy metal ion pollution cleanup results from its maximum adsorption capacities that are much higher than those of any of the currently reported sorbents.

Three-dimensional (3D) lead halide perovskites have emerged as a promising class of coordination polymers for solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting devices. These compounds thus far comprise methylammonium, formamidinium, or cesium as cations. In this work, we introduce a new methylhydrazinium 3D perovskite, CH3NH2NH2PbBr3, that crystallizes in the polar P21 structure at room temperature and undergoes a phase transition to the cubic Pm3̅m phase at 418 K. This perovskite exhibits strong second-harmonic generation activity, features switchable dielectric behavior, thermochromism, and two-photon energy upconversion under 800 nm excitation.

We report the synthesis, crystal structure, thermal, dielectric, Raman, infrared, and magnetic properties of hydrogen and deuterated divalent metal formates, [(CH3)2NH2][M(HCOO)3] and [(CH3)2ND2][M(HCOO)3], where M = Ni, Mn. On the basis of Raman and IR data, assignment of the observed modes to respective vibrations of atoms is proposed. The thermal studies show that for the Ni compounds deuteration leads to a decrease of the phase transition temperature Tc by 5.6 K, whereas it has a negligible effect on Tc in the Mn analogues. This behavior excludes the possibility of proton (deuteron) movement along the N-H···O (N-D···O) bonds as the microscopic origin of the first-order phase transition observed in these crystals below 190 K. According to single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the dimethylammonium (DMA) cations are dynamically disordered at room temperature, because the hydrogen bonds between the NH2 (ND2) groups and the metal-formate framework are disordered. The highly dynamic nature of hydrogen bonds in the high-temperature phases manifests in the Raman and IR spectra through very large bandwidth of modes involving vibrations of the NH2 (ND2) groups. The abrupt decrease in the bandwidth and shifts of modes near Tc signifies the ordering of hydrogen bonds and DMA(+) cations as well as significant distortion of the metal-formate framework across the phase transition. However, some amount of motion is retained by the DMA(+) cation in the ferroelectric phase and a complete freezing-in of this motion occurs below 100 K. The dielectric studies reveal pronounced dielectric dispersion that can be attributed to slow dynamics of large DMA(+) cations. The low-temperature studies also show that magnetic properties of the studied compounds can be explained assuming that they are ordered ferrimagnetically with nearly compensated magnetic moments of Ni and Mn. IR data reveal weak anomalies below 40 K that arise due to spin-phonon coupling. Our results also show that due to structural phase transition more significant distortion of the metal-formate framework occurs for the deuterated samples.

Formation of noncentrosymmetric three-dimensional (3D) lead halide perovskites has been a widely sought after goal because the polar structure opens up new vistas to properties of these materials, e.g., improved charge separation for photovoltaics arising from ferroelectric order. Here, we report growth and unique properties of a new highly distorted 3D perovskite, methylhydrazinium lead chloride (CH3NH2NH2PbCl3, MHyPbCl 3 ). This perovskite crystallizes in polar P21 structure at room temperature, which consists of two types of PbCl6 octahedra: one weakly and another strongly deformed. The unusual deformation of every second perovskite layer is forced by the large size of methylhydrazinium cations and the ability of NH2 + terminal groups of methylhydrazinium cations to form coordination bonds with Pb2+ metal centers. On heating, MHyPbCl 3 undergoes a phase transition at 342 K into another polar Pb21 m phase with ordered organic cations. Temperature-resolved second-harmonic generation (TR-SHG) measurements confirm acentricity of both phases and show that second-harmonic response is enhanced for the high-temperature Pb21 m phase. This intriguing property of MHyPbCl 3 has been employed to demonstrate an unprecedented kind of quadratic nonlinear optical switching in which a second-harmonic response is switched between a room-temperature, low-SHG state and a high-temperature, high-SHG state. X-ray diffraction shows that enhancement of polar properties is due to rearrangement of the perovskite’s organic substructure. There is a clear pyrocurrent peak, but switching of the electric polarization could not be observed. Optical studies showed that MHyPbCl 3 is a wide-bandgap material with a bandgap of 3.4 eV (365 nm). At low temperatures, it exhibits weak UV emissions at 362 and 369 nm as well as a strong broadband white emission.

An expansive library of structurally complex two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) lead halide perovskites has emerged over the past decade, finding applications in various aspects of photon management: photovoltaics, photodetection, light emission, and nonlinear optics. Needless to say, the highest degree of structural plasticity enjoys the former group, offering a rich playground for modifications of relevant optoelectronic parameters such as exciton energy. Structural tailorability is reflected in the ease of modification of the chemistry of the organic layers residing between inorganic slabs. In this vein, we show that the introduction of methylhydrazinium cation (MHy+, CH3NH2NH2 +) into 2D perovskite gives a material with a record low separation of the inorganic layers (8.91 Å at 300 K). Optical studies showed that MHy2PbBr4 features the most red-shifted excitonic absorption among all known A2PbBr4 compounds as well as a small exciton binding energy of 99.9 meV. MHy2PbBr4 crystallizes in polar Pmn21 symmetry at room emperature (phase III) and at 351 K undergoes a phase transition to modulated Pmnm phase (II) followed by another phase transition at 371 K to Pmnm phase (I). The ferroelectric property of room-temperature phase III is inferred from switching of the pyrocurrent, dielectric measurements, and optical birefringence results. MHy2PbBr4 exhibits multiple nonlinear optical phenomena such as second-harmonic generation, third-harmonic generation, two-photon excited luminescence, and multiphoton excited luminescence. Analysis of MHy2PbBr4 single-crystal luminescence spectra obtained through linear and nonlinear optical excitation pathways indicates that free exciton emission is readily probed by the ultraviolet excitation, whereas crumpled exciton emission is detected under two- and multiphoton excitation conditions. Overall, our results demonstrate that incorporation of MHy+ into the organic layer is an emergent strategy for obtaining a 2D perovskite with polar character and multifunctional properties.