Identifying the formation of antimony-based sesquioxide phase materials via wet and solid-state chemical synthesis routes - a detailed study

In this work, the samples produced by varying the synthesis conditions by the precipitation, manual mixing and wetting, ball-milling, and molten flux techniques were analyzed by XRD patterns. The materials produced by manual mixing and subsequent wetting and wet chemical route using 25 and 50 ml of deionized water as a solvent reveal the formation of a single orthorhombic Sb2O3 phase, whereas the pure cubic Sb2O3 phase is formed for 250 ml of deionized water. The ball-milling and molten flux-derived samples show different phases than the desired Sb2O3 phase materials. The TG/DTA results reveal substantial changes in the thermal features of different processed materials. In the identified Sb2O3 phase materials, the chemical Sb-O bond is confirmed by the FT-IR analysis. The characteristics of Raman modes of Sb2O3 phase materials are assured from the Raman spectra. The UV-Vis spectra of the identified Sb2O3 phase materials reveal broad maximum absorbance and show the band gap, E-g of 3.21-3.96 eV. Different morphologies are observed for both orthorhombic and cubic Sb2O3 phase materials. The identified Sb2O3 phase materials are suitable for solar and color reflective pigment applications like the Al2O3, CeO2, TiO2, and ZnO nanomaterials.

Automated summary

Different synthesis conditions result in different crystal phases and thermal features of the materials. Manual mixing and subsequent wetting and wet chemical route produce a single Sb2O3 phase, while ball-milling and molten flux techniques yield different phases. Raman and UV-Vis spectra analysis show that the identified Sb2O3 phase materials are suitable for solar and color reflective pigment applications.