This critical review deals with the chemistry and applications of metal alkanoates with medium size (C5 to C12) carbon chain length. A particular emphasis is given to metal 2-ethylhexanoates, which find wide applications as metal-organic precursors in materials science, as catalysts for ring opening polymerizations and also in painting industries for their properties as driers. After a brief introduction and an overview of synthesis, structural and physico-chemical properties, this article discuses extensively the applications of these compounds in materials science. Finally, it identifies and signifies the areas for future research in the looking ahead section. The aim of this review is to bridge the areas of precursor's chemistry and materials science by providing a reference text for researchers working either in or at the interface of these two areas (125 references).
MATERIAUX+SDAWe investigate the interface energy impact on phase stability using the shining example of TiO2 nanoparticles under pressure. We revisit the previously reported phase diagram of this system and propose a new mechanism allowing the control of pressure-induced amorphization of TiO2 ultrafine particles. We demonstrate that the size effect is necessary for stabilizing the amorphous state but is not sufficient in the sense that surface chemical functionalization of nanoparticles is determinant. This discovery opens the possibility to select the high-pressure phase in nanomaterials and, consequently, the recovered structure under ambient conditions
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