Alkaline Earth Metal Zirconate Perovskites MZrO3 (M=Ba(2+), Sr(2+), Ca(2+)) Derived from Molecular Precursors and Doped with Eu(3+) Ions.

The effect of alkaline earth metal alkoxides on the protonation of zirconocene dichloride was investigated. This approach enabled the design of compounds with preset molecular structures for generating high-purity binary metal oxide perovskites MZrO3 (M=Ba(2+), Sr(2+), Ca(2+)). Single-source molecular precursors [Ba4 Zr2 (μ6 -O)(μ3 ,η(2)-OR)8 (OR)2(η(2) -HOR)2 (HOR)2 Cl4], [Sr4 Zr2 (μ6 -O)(μ3 ,η(2)-OR)8 (OR)2 (HOR)4 Cl4], [Ca4 Zr2 (μ6-O)(μ3 ,η(2)-OR)8 (OR)2 Cl4], and [Ca6 Zr2 (μ2 ,η(2)-OR)12 (μ-Cl)2 (η(2) -HOR)4 Cl6 ]⋅8 CH2 Cl2 were prepared via elimination of the cyclopentadienyl ring from Cp2 ZrCl2 as CpH in the presence of M(OR)2 and alcohol ROH (ROH=CH3OCH2 CH2OH) as a source of protons. The resulting complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The compounds were then thermally decomposed to MCl2 /MZrO3 mixtures. Leaching of MCl2 from the raw powder with deionized water produced highly pure perovskite-like oxide particles of 40-80 nm in size. Luminescence studies on Eu(3+)-doped MZrO3 revealed that the perovskites are attractive host lattices for potential applications in display technology.