Researchers have identified previously unknown materials that could support future advances in solar fuels, batteries, catalysis and electronics.
The study, published in Nature Communications, found that carefully controlling and tracking how molecular precursors break down during heating can reveal hidden intermediate materials. These “in-between” stages appear before the final material is formed and may have useful properties of their own.
The research team used specially designed single-source precursors, which are molecules containing all the elements needed to create a target material. By monitoring how these molecules changed during heating, the researchers identified several new material phases that are not normally accessible through conventional synthetic methods.
“When materials are made by heating, scientists usually focus on the final product, the ‘B’ that results from ‘A,’” said Dr Sebastian Pike, from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick. “But this study shows that there are many fascinating stages in between ‘A’ and ‘B,’ and these hidden steps, could be just as important.”
One of the materials discovered was a previously unknown, kinetically stabilized form of bismuth vanadate, known as β-BiVO₄. Bismuth vanadate is widely studied as a clean-energy material because its band gap allows it to absorb sunlight while providing enough energy to split water and produce hydrogen fuel.
The newly identified β-BiVO₄ has a different atomic structure from known forms of the material and a significantly larger band gap. According to the researchers, this means it interacts with light differently and could create new opportunities for tuning materials used in solar fuel generation, catalysis and electronics.
The team also found that another hidden intermediate material was able to store large amounts of lithium, suggesting potential use in next-generation battery technologies.
“What’s exciting is that these ‘in-between’ materials aren’t just stepping stones — they can have useful properties in their own right,” said Dr Dominik Kubicki, from the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. “By understanding and controlling how they form, we can start to design better materials for batteries, catalysis, and solar energy.”
The researchers used techniques including solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis to observe the normally hidden intermediate states.
Dr Pike said the work points to a broader opportunity in materials science, adding that careful control of temperature, precursor chemistry and reaction pathways could reveal many more useful hidden materials.
Article Source: University of Warwick
