ScienceNot yet confirmed elsewhere1 publisher2 min readPublished
Short-lived phases formed during heating yield a new form of bismuth vanadate
Chemists at Warwick and Birmingham watched precursors decompose under heat and found several unknown phases, including a new form of bismuth vanadate. Its band gap is significantly larger than that of the known forms, so its value for solar hydrogen has yet to be measured.
The Scientist · Science desk
What happened
- The team began with single-source precursors, molecules that carry every element the final material needs, and monitored how they changed as the temperature rose.
- To catch phases that appear only partway through, the researchers combined solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis.
- The new phase, named beta-BiVO4, has an atomic arrangement that differs from the known forms of bismuth vanadate.
- A second intermediate phase stored large amounts of lithium, and the University of Warwick release links it to possible next-generation batteries.
Compiled by The ScientistSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- capability Because precursor choice and decomposition route steer which phase forms, chemists can treat the starting molecule as a setting for reaching structures that ordinary heating does not easily produce.
- constraint Until its gap is measured and tried in water splitting, beta-BiVO4 cannot be ranked against the known form on the property that made BiVO4 a solar-fuel candidate.
- precedent Labs that characterise only the end product of a heated synthesis now have a published case for logging intermediates, since this team found phases with possible uses in its first experiments.
Heat-driven synthesis is usually judged on its final product, so the stages along the way tend to be overlooked, according to a University of Warwick release on the Nature Communications paper [3][2]. Dr. Sebastian Pike of Warwick's Department of Chemistry [11] said: "When materials are made by heating, scientists usually focus on the final product, the 'B' that results from 'A.' But this study shows that there are many fascinating stages in between 'A' and 'B,' and these hidden steps, could be just as important." [4]
The single-source design suits that kind of watching. What forms along the way depends on how one molecule comes apart. The team reported that the choice of precursor, and the way it decomposed, strongly influenced which materials appeared [10]. I think that finding is the part other labs can reuse, provided it holds for other chemistries [10].
The bismuth vanadate result has to be read against what made the compound interesting in the first place. Known BiVO4 is valued for its band gap, the energy it needs to absorb sunlight and drive chemical reactions [7]. That gap lets it absorb sunlight well while still supplying enough energy to split water and make hydrogen [7]. The beta form, which the authors describe as kinetically stabilized [6], has a significantly larger gap [8]. By the release's own definition, it needs more energy before it absorbs light [12]. The release's claim for it is modest. The differences could give researchers new ways to tune materials for solar fuels, catalysis and electronics [14].
Pike also said: "We didn't know exactly what we would find going in, but we were confident there would be something interesting and unknown in the intermediate phases. We were thrilled to discover that some of these could have practical uses, even from the very first experiments." [13] The release does not give the beta form's band gap, the lithium phase's storage capacity or a count of new phases beyond "several" [6], and it does not describe any electrode or battery cell made from them.
Dr. Dominik Kubicki of the University of Birmingham's School of Chemistry [11] said: "What's exciting is that these 'in-between' materials aren't just stepping stones -- they can have useful properties in their own right. By understanding and controlling how they form, we can start to design better materials for batteries, catalysis, and solar energy." [15]
What to watch
- The band gap value reported for beta-BiVO4 in the Nature Communications paper, and any photoelectrochemical water-splitting test of the material.
- Whether beta-BiVO4, described as kinetically stabilized, keeps its structure under further heating or under working conditions.
- A storage capacity and cycling data for the lithium-holding intermediate phase.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence40
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap+35
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence45
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
Researchers uncovered previously unknown materials by closely following what happens as molecular precursors break apart and transform during heating.
- [2]
The research was published in Nature Communications.
- [3]
Intermediate phases that appear while molecules are converted into solids are often overlooked because scientists typically concentrate on the final product.
- [4]
"When materials are made by heating, scientists usually focus on the final product, the 'B' that results from 'A.' But this study shows that there are many fascinating stages in between 'A' and 'B,' and these hidden steps, could be just as important."
- [5]
The researchers began with specially designed single-source precursors, molecules containing all the elements needed to create a material, and monitored how those molecules changed as temperatures increased.
- [6]
The approach exposed several previously unknown material phases; one was a new, kinetically stabilized form of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4), named beta-BiVO4.
- [7]
BiVO4 attracts attention in clean energy research because of its band gap, the energy it needs to absorb sunlight and drive chemical reactions; its properties allow it to absorb sunlight effectively while still supplying enough energy to split water and generate hydrogen fuel.
- [8]
Beta-BiVO4 has an atomic arrangement that differs from known forms of the material and a significantly larger band gap, which changes the way it interacts with light.
- [9]
To observe the normally hidden states, the researchers combined solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis.
- [10]
The precursor selected at the start, along with the way it decomposes, can strongly influence which materials form; controlling those factors may allow structures that are difficult to obtain with standard heating methods.
- [11]
Sebastian Pike is in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick; Dominik Kubicki is in the School of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham; the release came from the University of Warwick.
- [12]
Because the band gap is the energy a material needs to absorb sunlight, beta-BiVO4's significantly larger gap means it needs more energy to absorb light than the known forms of BiVO4.
- [13]
"We didn't know exactly what we would find going in, but we were confident there would be something interesting and unknown in the intermediate phases. We were thrilled to discover that some of these could have practical uses, even from the very first experiments."
ReportedInsufficientSource: Dr. Sebastian Pike, University of Warwick2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [14]
The differences could give researchers new ways to adjust materials for use in solar fuel production, catalysis, and electronics.
ReportedInsufficientSource: University of Warwick release via ScienceDaily2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [15]
"What's exciting is that these 'in-between' materials aren't just stepping stones -- they can have useful properties in their own right. By understanding and controlling how they form, we can start to design better materials for batteries, catalysis, and solar energy."
ReportedInsufficientSource: Dr. Dominik Kubicki, University of Birmingham2 sources— create a free account to open themView cited source - [16]
Another hidden material identified during the experiments was able to store large amounts of lithium, raising the possibility that it could contribute to next-generation battery technologies.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- sciencedaily.comScientists find hidden materials that could improve batteries and solar fuels
1 article · October 9, 2026
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