Stabilizing metastable tetragonal HfO₂ using a non-hydrolytic solution-phase route: ligand exchange as a means of controlling particle size.

ABSTRACT: There has been intense interest in stabilizing the tetragonal phase of HfO₂ since it is predicted to outperform the thermodynamically stable lower-symmetry monoclinic phase for almost every application where HfO₂ has found use by dint of its higher dielectric constant, bandgap, and hardness. However, the monoclinic phase is much more thermodynamically stable and the tetragonal phase of HfO₂ is generally accessible only at temperatures above 1720 °C. Classical models comparing the competing influences of bulk free energy and specific surface energy predict that the tetragonal phase of HfO₂ ought to be stable at ultra-small dimensions below 4 nm; however, these size regimes have been difficult to access in the absence of synthetic methods that yiel

SUBMITTER: Waetzig GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6018514 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature