Hafnium(IV) oxide

Hafnium(IV) oxide

Names
IUPAC name Hafnium(IV) oxide
Other names Hafnium dioxide Hafnia
Identifiers
CAS Number	12055-23-1 Y
ChemSpider	258363 Y
Jmol 3D model	Interactive image
PubChem	292779
InChI InChI=1S/Hf.2O Y Key: CJNBYAVZURUTKZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y InChI=1/Hf.2O/rHfO2/c2-1-3 Key: CJNBYAVZURUTKZ-MSHMTBKAAI
SMILES O=[Hf]=O
Properties
Chemical formula	HfO2
Molar mass	210.49 g/mol
Appearance	off-white powder
Density	9.68 g/cm3, solid
Melting point	2,758 °C (4,996 °F; 3,031 K)
Boiling point	5,400 °C (9,750 °F; 5,670 K)
Solubility in water	insoluble
Vapor pressure	{{{value}}}
Related compounds
Other cations	Titanium(IV) oxide Zirconium(IV) oxide
Related compounds	Hafnium nitride
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N verify (what is YN ?)
Infobox references

Hafnium(IV) oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula HfO₂. Also known as hafnia, this colourless solid is one of the most common and stable compounds of hafnium. It is an electrical insulator with a band gap of 5.3~5.7 eV. Hafnium dioxide is an intermediate in some processes that give hafnium metal.

Hafnium(IV) oxide is quite inert. It reacts with strong acids such as concentrated sulfuric acid and with strong bases. It dissolves slowly in hydrofluoric acid to give fluorohafnate anions. At elevated temperatures, it reacts with chlorine in the presence of graphite or carbon tetrachloride to give hafnium tetrachloride.

Structure

Hafnia adopts the same structure as zirconia (ZrO₂). Unlike TiO₂, which features six-coordinate Ti in all phases, zirconia and hafnia consists of seven-coordinate metal centres. A variety of crystalline phases have been experimentally observed, including cubic (Fm-3m), tetragonal (P4₂/nmc), monoclinic (P2₁/c) and orthorhombic (Pbca and Pnma). It is also known that hafnia may adopt two other orthohombic metastable phases (space group Pca2₁ and Pmn2₁) over a wide range of pressures and temperatures, presumably being the sources of the ferroelectricity recently observed in thin films of hafnia.

Thin films of hafnium oxides, used in modern semiconductor devices, are often deposited with an amorphous structure (commonly by atomic layer deposition). Possible benefits of the amorphous structure have led researchers to alloy hafnium oxide with silicon (forming hafnium silicates) or aluminium, which were found to increase the crystallization temperature of hafnium oxide.

Applications

Hafnia is used in optical coatings, and as a high-κ dielectric in DRAM capacitors and in advanced metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. Hafnium-based oxides were introduced by Intel in 2007 as a replacement for silicon oxide as a gate insulator in field-effect transistors. The advantage for transistors is its high dielectric constant: the dielectric constant of HfO₂ is 4–6 times higher than that of SiO₂. The dielectric constant and other properties depend on the deposition method, composition and microstructure of the material.

In recent years, hafnium oxide (as well as doped and oxygen-deficient hafnium oxide) attracts additional interest as a possible candidate for resistive-switching memories.

Because of its very high melting point, hafnia is also used as a refractory material in the insulation of such devices as thermocouples, where it can operate at temperatures up to 2500 °C.

Multilayered films of hafnium dioxide, silica, and other materials have been developed for use in passive cooling of buildings. The films reflect sunlight and radiate heat at wavelengths that pass through Earth's atmosphere, and can have temperatures several degrees cooler than surrounding materials under the same conditions.