Synthesis and in-depth structure determination of a novel metastable high-pressure CrTe phase.

This study reports the synthesis and crystal structure determination of a novel CrTe phase using various experimental and theoretical methods. The average stoichiometry and local phase separation of this quenched high-pressure phase were characterized by synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and total scattering. Several structural models were obtained using simulated annealing, but all suffered from an imperfect Rietveld refinement, especially at higher diffraction angles.

Self-Modification of Defective TiO under Controlled H/Ar Gas Environment and Dynamics of Photoinduced Surface Oxygen Vacancies.

In recent years, defective TiO has caught considerable research attention because of its potential to overcome the limits of low visible light absorption and fast charge recombination present in pristine TiO photocatalysts. Among the different synthesis conditions for defective TiO, ambient pressure hydrogenation with the addition of Ar as inert gas for safety purposes has been established as an easy method to realize the process. Whether the Ar gas might still influence the resulting photocatalytic properties and defective surface layer remains an open question.