The atomic level journey from aqueous polyoxometalate to metal oxide

Aqueous precursors tailored for the deposition of thin film materials are desirable for sustainable, simple, low energy production of advanced materials. Yet the simple practice of using aqueous precursors is complicated by the multitude of interactions that occur between ions and water during dehydration. Here we use lithium polyoxoniobate salts to investigate the fundamental interactions in the transition from precursor cluster to oxide film. Small-angle X-ray scattering of solutions, total X-ray scattering of intermediate gels, and morphological and structural characterization of the lithium niobate thin films reveal the atomic level transitions between these states. The studies show that (1) lithium-[H2Nb6O19](6-) has drastically different solution behaviour than lithium-[Nb6O19](8-), linked to the precursor salt structure (2) in both compositions, the intermediate gel preserves the polyoxoniobate clusters and show similar local order and (3) the morphology and phases of deposited films reflect the ions behaviour throughout the journey from cluster solution to metal oxide. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.