Rubidium sesquioxide is a
chemical compound
A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...
with the
formula
In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
or . In terms of
oxidation states
In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to different atoms were fully ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons) of an atom in a chemical compound. C ...
, Rubidium in this compound has a nominal charge of +1, and the oxygen is a mixed
peroxide
In chemistry, peroxides are a group of compounds with the structure , where R = any element. The group in a peroxide is called the peroxide group or peroxo group. The nomenclature is somewhat variable.
The most common peroxide is hydrogen p ...
() and
superoxide
In chemistry, a superoxide is a compound that contains the superoxide ion, which has the chemical formula . The systematic name of the anion is dioxide(1−). The reactive oxygen ion superoxide is particularly important as the product of t ...
() for a structural formula of . It has been studied theoretically as an example of a
strongly correlated material
Strongly correlated materials are a wide class of compounds that include insulators and electronic materials, and show unusual (often technologically useful) electronic and magnetic properties, such as metal-insulator transitions, heavy fermion ...
.
The compound was predicted to be a rare example of a
ferromagnetic
Ferromagnetism is a property of certain materials (such as iron) which results in a large observed magnetic permeability, and in many cases a large magnetic coercivity allowing the material to form a permanent magnet. Ferromagnetic materials ...
compound that is magnetic due to a
p-block element, and a
half-metal
A half-metal is any substance that acts as a conductor to electrons of one spin orientation, but as an insulator or semiconductor to those of the opposite orientation. Although all half-metals are ferromagnetic (or ferrimagnetic), most ferromag ...
that was conducting in the minority spin band. However, while the material does have exotic magnetic behavior, experimental results instead showed an electrically insulating
magnetically frustrated system.
also displays a
Verwey transition where
charge ordering Charge ordering (CO) is a (first- or second-order) phase transition occurring mostly in strongly correlated materials such as transition metal oxides or organic conductors. Due to the strong interaction between electrons, charges are localized on ...
appears at 290 K.
Rubidium sesquioxide can be prepared by reacting the peroxide and the superoxide :
:
It is initially discovered in 1907,
and more thoroughly characterized in 1939.
The compound crystallizes in a body-centered cubic form with the same crystal structure as
and
.
See also
*
Rubidium oxide
Rubidium oxide is the chemical compound with the formula . Rubidium oxide is highly reactive towards water, and therefore it would not be expected to occur naturally. The rubidium content in minerals is often calculated and quoted in terms of . I ...
References
Rubidium compounds
Sesquioxides
{{inorganic-compound-stub