CRYSTALLIZATION OF OXIDES AS FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS

Crystallization is essential to the manufacture of functional materials as varies as electronic devices, energy storage and conversion devices, and highly reactive catalysts. As an important part of functional materials, metal oxides possess wide applications and the crystallization of oxide materials has thus received considerable attention from both fundamental and technological perspectives. With particular emphasis on our recent laboratory results, this feature article gives a brief review in the field of crystallization of oxides. On the basis of chemical bonding theory of single crystal growth, we have simulated thermodynamic growth behaviors of various functional oxides such as ZnO, MgO, Cu2O, Nb2O5, V2O5, MnO2, SnO2, NiO, KDP/ADP, LiNbO3, and NaNbO3. Quantitatively analyzing bonding conditions of controllable crystallographic faces enables us to design proper synthesis strategies and optimize growth parameters, consequently obtaining functional oxides with desirable crystallization behaviors.