Compositional Tuning in NaxAlB14 via Diffusion Control

TL;DR

This study demonstrates a method to achieve uniform Na distribution in NaxAlB14 using high-pressure diffusion control, enabling tunable electronic properties and the synthesis of metastable compounds with potential applications in boride-based materials.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel high-pressure diffusion control technique to uniformly tune Na content in NaxAlB14, allowing exploration of its electronic properties across a wide composition range.

Findings

Na distribution was made uniform using HPDC and annealing.

Decreasing Na increased electrical conductivity and narrowed the optical band gap.

Boron vacancies create deep levels affecting the electronic structure.

Abstract

A uniform Na distribution in NaxAlB14 was achieved using high-pressure diffusion control (HPDC), which promotes Na deintercalation through enhanced diffusion under high pressure, combined with post-annealing. NaxAlB14 with a non-stoichiometric Na composition is thermodynamically metastable, and conventional solid-state reactions with adjusted starting compositions typically result in the formation of stoichiometric NaAlB14 and side products. While HPDC alone typically leads to concentration gradients, intentionally halting the Na removal process before complete extraction, followed by annealing, enabled a uniform composition across the bulk. This allowed structural and electronic properties to be examined over a wide range of Na concentrations. As Na content decreased, electrical conductivity increased, and the optical band gap narrowed. NMR measurements showed an increase in the density of states at the Fermi level, consistent with DFT calculations predicting boron-related in-gap states. Boron vacancies at specific sites were found to generate deep levels near the band gap center, which can explain experimentally observed optical gap reduction. These results demonstrate that diffusion-controlling methods can be effectively applied to synthesize metastable compounds with tunable compositions in covalent frameworks. Furthermore, they provide a foundation for designing functional boride-based materials with adjustable electronic properties by controlling Na extraction and inducing defect formation.