Hafniumiv Oxide

Also known as hafnium dioxide or 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

Names
IUPAC name Hafnium(IV) oxide
Other names Hafnium dioxide Hafnia
Identifiers
CAS Number	12055-23-1 Y
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image
ChemSpider	258363 Y
ECHA InfoCard	100.031.818
EC Number	235-013-2
PubChem CID	292779
UNII	3C4Z4KG52T Y
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
Magnetic susceptibility (χ)	−23.0·10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
Flash point	Non-flammable
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 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.

Hafnia typically adopts the same structure as zirconia (ZrO₂). Unlike TiO₂, which features six-coordinate Ti in all phases, zirconia and hafnia consist of seven-coordinate metal centres. A variety of other crystalline phases have been experimentally observed, including cubic fluorite (Fm3m), tetragonal (P4₂/nmc), monoclinic (P2₁/c) and orthorhombic (Pbca and Pnma). It is also known that hafnia may adopt two other orthorhombic metastable phases (space group Pca2₁ and Pmn2₁) over a wide range of pressures and temperatures, presumably being the sources of the ferroelectricity observed in thin films of hafnia.

Thin films of hafnium oxides deposited by atomic layer deposition are usually crystalline. Because semiconductor devices benefit from having amorphous films present, researchers have alloyed hafnium oxide with aluminum or silicon (forming hafnium silicates), which have a higher crystallization temperature than hafnium oxide.

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.

Hafnium oxide (as well as doped and oxygen-deficient hafnium oxide) attracts additional interest as a possible candidate for resistive-switching memories and CMOS-compatible ferroelectric field effect transistors (FeFET memory) and memory chips.

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.