Threefold coordinated germanium in a GeO<sub>2</sub> melt.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37919318.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-42890-3 and PMC identifier 10622558.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The local structure around germanium is a fundamental issue in material science and geochemistry. In the prevailing viewpoint, germanium in GeO<sub>2</sub> melt is coordinated by at least four oxygen atoms. However, the viewpoint has been debated for decades due to several unexplained bands present in the GeO<sub>2</sub> melt Raman spectra. Using in situ Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) computation, we have found a [GeOØ<sub>2</sub>]<sub>n</sub> (Ø = bridging oxygen) chain structure in a GeO<sub>2</sub> melt. In this structure, the germanium atom is coordinated by three oxygen atoms and interacts weakly with two neighbouring non-bridging oxygen atoms. The bonding nature of the chain has been analyzed on the basis of the computational electronic structure. The results may settle down the longstanding debate on the GeO<sub>2</sub> melt structure and modify our view on germanate chemistry.