Scandium Fluoride Powder

Scandium Fluoride powder

Scandium fluoride powder is a precursor in the preparation of high purity metal scandium. It has recently been used for the synthesis of phosphors that can be stimulated by visible light and as a dopant for light enhancers. The compound is considered a glass former and at the same time a promising glass modifier, most likely due to its surprising properties, negative thermal expansion coefficient and pronounced polymorphism. So far, at least six variants of this compound have been described. Currently, the search for fluorides with strong compositional perturbations is of primary interest to materials science, e.g. for non-stoichiometric fluorides whose chemical effectiveness is enhanced by the concentration of the defects. As a rule, they show the highest catalytic activity, probably because of their surface area and because their defective structure leads to the development of active sites. The first results to achieve this goal were recently obtained after a ScF3 powder deficient fluorine compound was synthesized and characterized. ScF3 powder was indexed in a tetragonal system with parameters at 3970 and c 6740 A˚. It is isostructural with the indium fluoride form, certainly due to proximity to Sc and in ionic rays. The parameters of the orthorhombic Scandium fluoride network are highly pressure dependent. The present work deals with the study of the polymorphism of ScF2.76 after high pressure application.