Preparation and intercalation study of ternary transition elements chalcogenides AxMXn

The crystalline powders of transition elements chalcogenides have been prepared by solid-solid reaction method starting from elemental powders in evacuated and sealed quartz tubes heated at various temperatures depending on the compound to be prepared. The structures and composition of the obtained compounds have been studied by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence techniques. Intercalation compounds CoxMX2 have been obtained by heating the powder with elemental cobalt at 500 Centigrade. The results of the structural studies show that the intercalation of cobalt is a regular phenomena and the cobalt atoms play the role of staples for the layers constructing the crystalline structure of starting materials. This stapling phenomena is accompanied by changes in distance between the layers and therefore changes in the length of bonds between the elements of compound. The changes in the length of bonds have been confirmed by the results of FTIR studies.(author)