Simultaneous,real-time measurement of nitric oxide and oxygen dynamics during cardiac ischemia-reperfusion of the rat utilizing sol-gel-derived electrochemical microsensors

In this study, we simultaneously measured nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen (O₂) dynamics in the myocardium during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) utilizing sol-gel modified electrochemical NO and O₂ microsensors. In addition, we attempted to clarify the correlation between NO release in the ischemic period and O₂ restoration in the myocardium after reperfusion, comparing a control heart with a remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC)-treated heart as an attractive strategy for myocardial protection. Rat hearts were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (n = 5) and an RIPC group (n = 5, with RIPC treatment). Myocardia that underwent RIPC treatment (182 ± 70 nM, p < 0.05) released more NO during the ischemic period than those of the control group (63 ± 41 nM). The restoration value of oxygen tension (pO₂) in the RIPC group significantly increased and was restored to pre-ischemic levels (92.6 ± 36.8%); however, the pO₂ of the control group did not increase throughout the reperfusion period (5.7 ± 7.5%, p = 0.001). Myocardial infarct size measurements revealed a significant decrease in cell death in the myocardium region of the RIPC group (41.44 ± 6.42%, p = 0.001) compared with the control group (60.05 ± 10.91%). As a result, we showed that the cardioprotective effect of RIPC could be attributed to endogenous NO production during the ischemic period, which subsequently promoted reoxygenation in post-ischemic myocardia during early reperfusion. Our results suggest that the promotion of endogenous formation during an ischemic episode might be helpful as a therapeutic strategy for protecting the myocardium from IR injury. Additionally, our NO and O₂ perm-selective microsensors could be utilized to evaluate the effect of drug or treatment.     

Influence of SiO2 on the structure and optical properties of lithium bismuth silicate glasses

Bismuth silicate glasses containing lithium oxide with composition 20Li₂O·(80 − x)Bi₂O₃·xSiO₂ (5 ? x ? 70 mol%) have been prepared by melt-quench technique. Density (D), molar volume (V_M) and glass transition temperature (T_g) for all the glass samples have been measured. FTIR spectroscopy has been employed to investigate the structure of these glasses in order to obtain information about the competitive role of Bi₂O₃ and SiO₂ in the formation of glass network. The increase of SiO₂ content in the glass matrix results in increasing the Si-O-Si bond angle and hence the ionicity of Si-O bond increases with decrease in Bi₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio. The optical transmittance spectra of all the glasses have been recorded in the wavelength range 200-3300 nm. The values of optical band gap (E_g) have been determined from the cutoff wavelength of these glasses. The average electronic polarizability of oxide ion () and the optical basicity (Λ_th) have been estimated from the calculated values of the E_g and were found to be dependent directly on Bi₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio. The variation in different physical parameters such as D, V_M and T_g and optical parameters; viz., E_g, , Λ_th with Bi₂O₃/SiO₂ ratio have been analyzed and discussed in terms of change in the glass structure.     

Phase equilibrium for clathrate hydrates formed from an ozone + oxygen gas mixture coexisting with carbon tetrachloride or 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane

This paper reports an attempt at acquiring phase-equilibrium pressure (p) versus temperature (T) data for ozone-containing clathrate hydrates formed from an ozone + oxygen gas mixture, a hydrophobic hydrate-forming liquid, and water in the liquid state. For dealing with ozone (O₃), a chemically unstable material continuously decaying to oxygen (O₂) in the gas phase, we devised a new method, i.e., a modified pressure-search method, to determine the equilibrium p-T conditions while maintaining the ozone concentration in the gas phase nearly constant by repeatedly replacing the contents of the gas phase with a freshly generated O₃ + O₂ mixture. Using carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) as the hydrophobic hydrate-forming liquid, we obtained equilibrium p-T data in the range of 0.167 MPa ≤ p ≤ 0.361 MPa and 275.6 K ≤ T ≤ 277.3 K in the presence of a gas phase containing O₃ at the molar concentration of 6.9 ± 0.8%. We also obtained, for comparison, the corresponding p-T data, using pure O₂ gas, instead of the O₃ + O₂ mixture, and the conventional pressure-search method. The two data groups obtained from the O₃-containing and O₃-free systems, respectively, show simple, mutually consistent p-T relations each well fitted by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation assuming a constant enthalpy of hydrate dissociation. The paper also describes our additional attempt at obtaining equilibrium p-T data using 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (R141b) as a substitute for CCl₄. Because of the partial decomposition of R141b due to the coexistence of O₃ and water, however, we obtained only limited data which are tentative in nature.     

La6Mo8O33: a new ordered defect scheelite superstructure

The structure of La₆Mo₈O₃₃ has been determined from a triple pattern powder diffraction analysis. Two high-resolution neutron diffraction patterns collected at 1.594 and 2.398 Å and one X-rays were used. This molybdate crystallizes in a non-centrosymmetric monoclinic space group P2₁(N°4), Z=2,a=10.7411(3) Å, b=11.9678(3) Å, c=11.7722(3) Å, β=116.062 (1)°. La₆Mo₈O₃₃ is an unusual ordered defect Scheelite. Hence, it should be described with cation vacancies and an extra oxygen atom following the formula: La₆□₂Mo₈O₃₂₊₁. This extra oxygen atom leads to a pyramidal environment, whereas the other molybdenum atoms present tetrahedral environment. A molybdenum tetrahedral is connecting to the pyramid, forming an [Mo₂O₉] unit.     

Energetics of La1−xAxCrO3−δ perovskites (A=Ca or Sr)

A series of perovskites with the general formula La_1−xA_xCrO_3−δ (A=Ca or Sr) have been synthesized in the solid solution range 0.0<x?0.3 and 0.0?δ?0.5x with a variety of heat treatments. High-temperature drop solution calorimetry in molten 2PbO·B₂O₃ at 1080 K was performed to determine their enthalpies of formation from oxides at room temperature. The enthalpy of oxidation involved in the reaction is roughly independent of oxygen nonstoichiometry (δ) in each series with a given dopant composition, but varies with composition (x). The values change from −620±260 to −280±80 kJ/mol O₂ when x=0.1-0.3 for Ca-doped samples, and from −440±150 to −290±50 kJ/mol O₂ for Sr-doped ones. This dependence of enthalpy of oxidation on composition suggests oxygen vacancies are increasingly short-range ordered in reduced samples. The higher oxidation state of chromium is stabilized by the substitution of alkaline earth ions, but with increasing doping, the enthalpy of formation of the fully oxidized sample in both Ca and Sr-doped systems becomes more endothermic. This destabilization effect is attributed to the large endothermic enthalpy of oxygen vacancy formation (395±30 kJ/mol of ) for the reaction (A=Ca or Sr) that over-rides the exothermic enthalpies of oxidation. At a given composition, Sr-doped LaCrO₃ is more stable than its Ca-doped counterpart, which is consistent with basicity arguments.     

Sensing hydrogen peroxide involving intramolecular charge transfer pathway: A boronate-functioned styryl dye as a highly selective and sensitive naked-eye sensor

The synthesis, properties and applications of a novel boronate-functioned styryl dye, BSD, as a colorimetric sensor for hydrogen peroxide is presented. The dye displayed remarkable color change from colorless (λ_max = 391 nm) to deep red (λ_max = 522 nm) in the presence of H₂O₂ and the behavior could be rationalized by the chemoselective H₂O₂-mediated transformation of arylboronate to phenolate, resulting in the release of the merocyanine dye which featured with strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) absorption band. The absorption increment of merocyanine at λ_max = 522 nm (? = 87000 L mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹) is linear with the concentration of H₂O₂ in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁷-2.5 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ with the detection limit of 6.8 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ under optimum conditions. There is almost no interference by other species that commonly exist due to the specific deprotection of H₂O₂ towards arylboronate group on BSD. The chromogenic sensor has been applied to the detection of trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide in rain water.     

Synthesis, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of the manganate La2Ca2MnO6(O2) related to the hexagonal perovskite-type structure

The compound La₂Ca₂MnO₆(O₂) has been synthesized from La₂Ca₂MnO₇ heated at 1123 K under high pressure (4 GPa) with KClO₃ as oxygen source. The crystal structure has been refined from X-ray powder data in the space group. The unit-cell parameters are a=5.6335(2) Å and c=17.4879(8) Å. Perpendicular to the c-axis, the structure is built up by the periodic stacking of two close packed [LaO₃] layers separated by a layer of composition [Ca₂O₂] containing (O₂)²⁻ peroxide ions. This oxide belongs to the family of compounds formulated as [A′₂O_2−δ][A_nB_n−1O_3n] for n=2 and δ=0. It is the first member of the series where the thickness of the perovskite slab corresponds to one [BO₆] (B=Mn) octahedron. The structural relationships with La₂Ca₂MnO₇ are discussed and the magnetic properties show that in both phases manganese is tetravalent.     

One-dimensional inorganic arrangement in the bismuth oxalate hydroxide Bi(C2O4)OH

Single crystals of Bi(C₂O₄)OH were obtained by the slow diffusion of Bi³⁺ cations through silica gel impregnated with oxalic acid. The structure was solved in the Pnma space group with a=6.0853(2) Å, b=11.4479(3) Å, c=5.9722(2) Å, leading to R=0.0188 and wR=0.0190 from 513 unique reflections. The bismuth coordination polyhedron is a BiO₆E pentagonal bipyramid with the lone pair E sitting at an axial vertex. The opposite axial vertex is occupied by a hydroxyl oxygen atom, which is also an equatorial corner of a neighboring BiO₆E bipyramid. The sharing of the hydroxyl oxygen atoms build zig-zag chains running down the [100] direction. These chains are aligned in a sheet parallel to the (010) plane and are further connected through oxalate ions to form a three-dimensional arrangement. On heating, Bi(C₂O₄)OH decomposes to the meta-stable quadratic β-Bi₂O₃ phase.     

K2Ca6Si4O15—structural and spectroscopical studies on a mixed tetrahedral-octahedral framework

In the course of an excursion into the system K₂O-CaO-SiO₂, single crystalline material of the previously unknown compound K₂Ca₆Si₄O₁₅ has been obtained. Single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that the new phase is monoclinic (space group P12/c1) with the following basic crystallographic data: a=7.3782(8) Å, b=5.5677(5) Å, c=17.2466(17) Å, β=90.005(8)°, Z=2. According to Liebau's nomenclature, the compound can be classified as a mixed anion silicate containing insular [SiO₄]-groups as well as [Si₂O₇]-dimers in the ratio 2:1, i.e. the crystallochemical formula can be written as K₂Ca₆[SiO₄]₂[Si₂O₇]. The silicate anions are linked by K- and Ca-ions distributed among five different non-tetrahedral M-positions and coordinated by six to eight nearest oxygen neighbors. Alternatively, the structure can be described as a heteropolyhedral framework built up by kröhnkite-type [M(SiO₄)₂O₂]-chains in which the MO₆ octahedra are corner-linked to bridging SiO₄ tetrahedra. The chains (running parallel to [0 1 0]) are located in 4.6 Å wide layers parallel to (1 0 0). Neighboring sheets are shifted relative to each other by an amount of +δ or −δ along [0 0 1]. In the derived two layer …ABABAB… stacking sequence, chains belonging to adjacent sheets are linked by corner sharing of common oxygen atoms. The resulting network contains tunnels in which the more irregularly coordinated K- and Ca-ions are incorporated for charge compensation. A comparison between the present compound and structurally related mixed tetrahedral-octahedral frameworks is given. The characterization has been completed by Raman and FTIR-spectroscopy. An allocation of the bands to certain vibrational species has been aided by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

An open-framework three-dimensional indium oxalate: [In(OH)(C2O4)(H2O)]3·H2O

By hydrothermal reaction of In₂O₃ with H₂C₂O₄·2H₂O in the presence of H₃BO₃ at 155 °C, an open-framework three-dimensional indium oxalate of formula [In(OH)(C₂O₄)(H₂O)]₃·H₂O (1) has been obtained. The compound crystallizes in the trigonal system, space group R3c with , , , Z=6, R₁=0.0352 at 298 K. The small pores in 1 are filled with water molecules. It loses its filled water at about 180 °C without the change of structure, then the bounded water at 260 °C, and completely decompounds at 324 °C. The residue is confirmed to be In₂O₃.     

Systematic investigation on new SrCo1−yNbyO3−δ ceramic membranes with high oxygen semi-permeability

SrCo_1−yNb_yO_3−δ (y = 0.025–0.4) were synthesized for oxygen separation application. The crystal structure, phase stability, oxygen nonstoichiometry, electrical conductivity, and oxygen permeability of the oxides were systematically investigated. Cubic perovskite, with enhanced phase stability at higher Nb concentration, was obtained at y = 0.025–0.2. However, the further increase in niobium concentration led to the formation of impurity phase. The niobium doping concentration also had a significant effect on electrical conductivity and oxygen permeability of the membranes. SrCo_0.9Nb_0.1O_3−δ exhibited the highest electrical conductivity and oxygen permeability among the others. It reached a permeation flux of ∼2.80 × 10⁻⁶ mol cm⁻² s⁻¹ at 900 °C for a 1.0-mm membrane under an air/helium oxygen gradient. The further investigation demonstrated the oxygen permeation process was mainly rate-limited by the oxygen bulk diffusion process.     

Novel luminescent Ir(III) dyes for developing highly sensitive oxygen sensing films

New sensing films have been developed for the detection of molecular oxygen. These films are based on luminescent Ir(III) dyes incorporated either into polystyrene (with and without plasticizer) or metal oxide, nanostructured material. The preparation and characterization of each film have been investigated in detail. Due to their high sensitivity for low oxygen concentration, the parameters pO₂(S=1/2) and ΔI_1% have been also evaluated in order to establish the most sensitive membrane for controlling concentrations between 0 and 10% and low oxygen concentrations (lower than 1%), respectively. The results show that the use of nanostructured material increased the sensitivity of the film; the most sensitive membrane for controlling O₂ between 0 and 10% is based on N1001 immobilized in AP200/19 (k_sv = 2848 ± 101 bar⁻¹ and pO₂(S=1/2)=0.0006), and the complex N969 incorporated into AP200/19 seems to be the most suitable for applications in oxygen trace sensing (ΔI_1% = 93.13 ± 0.13%).     

The direct decomposition of NO over the La2CuO4 nanofiber catalyst

The NO catalytic direct decomposition was studied over La₂CuO₄ nanofibers, which were synthesized by using single walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as templates under hydrothermal condition. The composition and BET specific surface area of the La₂CuO₄ nanofiber were La₂Cu_0.88²⁺Cu_0.12⁺O_3.94 and 105.0 m²/g, respectively. 100% NO conversion (turnover frequency-(TOF): 0.17 g_NO/g_catalyst s) was obtained over such nanofiber catalyst at temperatures above 300 °C with the products being only N₂ and O₂. In 60 h on stream testing, either at 300 °C or at 800 °C, the nanofiber catalyst still showed high NO conversion efficiency (at 300 °C, 98%, TOF: 0.17 g_NO/g_catalyst s; at 800 °C, 96%, TOF: 0.16 g_NO/g_catalyst s). The O₂ and NO temperature programmed desorption (TPD) results indicated that the desorption of oxygen over the nanofibers occurred at 80-190 and 720-900 °C; while NO desorption happened at temperatures of 210-330 °C. NO and O₂ did not competitively adsorb on the nanofiber catalyst. For outstanding the advantage of the nanostate catalyst, the usual La₂CuO₄ bulk powder was also prepared and studied for comparison.     

Control of retention and fatigue-free characteristics in CaBi4Ti4O15 thin films prepared by chemical method

Ferroelectric CaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅ (CBTi144) thin films were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by the polymeric precursor method. The films present a single phase of layered-structured perovskite with polar axis orientation after annealing at 700 °C for 2 h in static air and oxygen atmosphere. The a/b-axis orientation of the ferroelectric film is considered to be associated with the preferred orientation of the Pt bottom electrode. It is noted that the films annealed in static air showed good polarization fatigue characteristics at least up to 10¹⁰ bipolar pulse cycles and excellent retention properties up to 10⁴ s. On the other hand, oxygen atmosphere seems to be crucial in the decrease of both, fatigue and retention characteristics of the capacitors. Independently of the applied electric field, the retained switchable polarization approached a nearly steady-state value after a retention time of 10 s.     

Quantitative millimetre wavelength spectrometry at pressures approaching atmospheric: II. Determination of oxygen at atmospheric pressure

A millimetre wavelength (MMW) Fabry-Perot cavity spectrometer described in earlier work has been applied to the measurement of oxygen absorption at 60 GHz and atmospheric pressure in a gas matrix of nitrogen. The spectrometer has also been modified such that the MMW source is stabilised by a sub-harmonic microwave signal transmitted by an infrared carrier on a single mode telecommunications fibre optic. This is a step towards developing an instrument comprising minimal electronic components that can perform MMW spectrometry remotely. Oxygen determinations were achieved by monitoring the change in the quality factor (Q) of a resonant Fabry-Perot cavity due to the presence of an absorbing sample. The MMW absorption of the sample was determined by incrementing the frequency modulation (FM) deviation of the source frequency scanning the cavity resonance profile. The response curve of absorption signal versus fraction of oxygen in nitrogen was found to be linear throughout the working range of 1-100% O₂ (v/v) in N₂ with a slope of (1.407±0.007)×10⁻⁴ m⁻¹ (% O₂)⁻¹. The detection limit (3× standard deviation of the background) was found to be ∼0.8% (v/v). The MMW technique employed is advantageous since, unlike common MMW techniques, there is no vacuum requirement. Application of this method, to the monitoring of oxygen in gas mixtures of practical importance, is proposed. Values of the oxygen spectral absorption coefficients of lines between 55 and 60 GHz were measured at reduced pressure and found to be within ±2% of previous literature values. A pressure correction coefficient for O₂ absorption at 60 GHz in the 45-121 kPa range was obtained and found to be (1.354±0.014)×10⁻⁴ m⁻¹ kPa⁻¹.     

Effect of oxygen addition on the hydrogen production from ethanol steam reforming in a Pd–Ag membrane reactor

In this communication, a porous stainless steel (PSS) tube was electrolessly plated into Pd–Ag membrane reactor which was used for separating hydrogen produced in an ethanol steam reforming reaction with the addition of oxygen, which has not been reported before. Palladium and silver were deposited on porous stainless steel tube via the sequential electroless plating procedure with an overall film thickness of 20 μm and Pd/Ag weight ratio of 78/22. Ethanol–water mixture (n_water/n_ethanol = 1 or 3) and oxygen (n_oxygen/n_ethanol = 0.2 or 0.7) were fed concurrently into the membrane reactor packed with MDC-3. The reaction temperatures were set at 593–723 K and the pressures 3–10 atm. The effect of oxygen addition plays a vital role on the ethanol steam reforming reaction, especially for the Pd–Ag membrane reactor in which a higher flux of hydrogen is required. If oxygen in the feed is not sufficient, it would be possible that steam reforming reaction prevails. Inversely, high O₂ addition will shift the reaction scenario to be partial oxidation dominating, and selectivity of CO₂ increases with increasing oxygen feed. At high pressure, autothermal reaction of ethanol would be easily reached.     

Phase stability of BSCF in low oxygen partial pressures

In situ X-ray diffraction has been used to investigate the phase stability of barium strontium cobalt iron oxide (BSCF) with the formula Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Fe_1−xCo_xO_3−δ (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1). The thermal decomposition processes in both low partial pressures of oxygen (air −10⁻⁵ atm pO₂) and in reducing conditions have been detailed. BSCF manifests excellent stability down to 10⁻⁵ atm pO₂; however, it decomposes through a complex series of oxides under reducing conditions. Increasing the cobalt content results in a decrease in the temperature range of stability of the material under 4% H₂ in N₂, with the initial decomposition taking place at 375, 425, 550, 600, 650 and 675 °C, for x=1, 0.8, 0.6, 0.4, 0.2 and 0, respectively. Further, the thermal expansion is a strong function of the oxygen activity and Co content. The x=0, 1 end member, BSC, undergoes a phase transition from rhombohedral to cubic symmetry at ∼800 °C under 10⁻⁵ atm pO₂, resulting in an ideal perovskite with a=3.9892(3) Å at room temperature.     

High-temperature X-ray diffraction study of crystallization and phase segregation on spinel-type lithium manganese oxides

To study crystallization process of spinel-type Li_1+xMn_2−xO₄, in-situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction technique (HT-XRD) was utilized for the mixture consisting of Li₂CO₃ and Mn₂O₃ as starting material in the temperature range of 25-700 °C. In-situ HT-XRD analysis directly revealed that crystallization process of Li_1+xMn_2−xO₄ was significantly affected by the difference in the Li/Mn molar ratio in the precursor. Single phase of stoichiometric LiMn₂O₄ formed at 700 °C. The formation of single phase of spinel was achieved at the lower temperature than the stoichiometric sample as Li/Mn molar ratio in the precursor increased. Lattice parameter of the stoichiometric LiMn₂O₄ at 25 °C was 8.24 Å and expanded to 8.31 Å at 700 °C, which corresponds to the approximately 3% expansion in the unit cell volume. From the slope of the lattice parameter change as a function of temperatures, linear thermal expansion coefficient of the stoichiometric LiMn₂O₄ was calculated to be 1.2×10⁻⁵ °C⁻¹ in this temperature range. When the Li/Mn molar ratio in Li_1+xMn_2−xO₄ increased (x > 0.1), the spinel phase segregated into the Li_1+yMn_2−yO₄ (x > y) and Li₂MnO₃ during heating, which involved the oxygen loss from the materials. During the cooling process from 700 °C, and the segregated phase merged into Li_1+xMn_2−xO₄ with oxygen incorporation. Such trend directly observed by in-situ HT-XRD was supported by thermal gravimetric analysis as reversible weight (oxygen) loss/gain at higher temperature (500-700 °C).     

Phase equilibrium and electrical conductivity of SrCo0.8Fe0.2O3−δ

The phase diagram of the SrCo_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ compound has been determined at high temperatures (823?T?1223 K) and in the oxygen partial pressure range (10⁻⁵?pO₂?1 atm) by thermogravimetric measurements of the equilibrium pO₂, high temperature X-ray diffraction and electrical conductivity measurements. The cubic perovskite phase SrCo_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ is stable in a broad range of oxygen content, while the orthorhombic brownmillerite phase SrCo_0.8Fe_0.2O_2.5 stabilizes within a small range around 3−δ=2.5 at temperatures below 1073 K. Equilibrium pO₂ measurements under isothermal conditions show chemical hysteresis at the perovskite to brownmillerite transition. The hysteresis loop decreases its amplitude in pO₂ with decreasing temperature. This behavior is discussed considering the evolution from coherent intergrowth interfaces with elastic strain energy to incoherent interfaces without elastic strain energy as T decreases. The thermodynamic quantities h_O2^oxide and s_O2^oxide for the perovskite phase decrease when increasing the oxygen defects concentration. The electrical conductivity (σ) of the cubic phase exhibits a thermally activated behavior at high temperature. The variation of σ with the oxygen content is non-linear and the activation energy varies from 0.4 to 0.28 eV as the oxygen content increases from 2.4 to 2.6. These results are interpreted in the frame of the small polaron model.     

The local structure and composition of Ba4Nb2O9-based oxycarbonates

X-ray powder-diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron diffraction (ED), infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetry (TG) and mass spectroscopy (MS) were performed to investigate the composition and the crystal structure of tetra-barium di-niobate (V) Ba₄Nb₂O₉. The TG, MS and IR studies revealed that the compound is a hydrated oxycarbonate. Assuming that the carbonate stoichiometrically replaces oxygen, the composition of the low-temperature α-modification, obtained by slow cooling from 1100 °C, corresponds to Ba₄Nb₂O_8.8(CO₃)_0.2·0.1H₂O, while the quenched high-temperature γ-modification has the Ba₄Nb₂O_8.42(CO₃)_0.58·0.38H₂O composition. The α-phase has a composite incommensurately modulated structure consisting of two mutually interacting [Ba]_∞ and the [(Nb,□)O₃]_∞ subsystems. The composite modulated crystal structure of the α-phase can be described with the lattice parameters a=10.2688(1) Å, c=2.82426(8) Å, q=0.66774(2)c* and a superspace group Rm(00γ)0s. The HRTEM analysis demonstrates the nanoscale twinning of the trigonal domains parallel to the {1 0 0} crystallographic planes. The twinning introduces a one-dimensional disorder into the [(Nb,□)O₃]_∞ subsystem, which results in an average P2c crystal structure of the α-phase. Possible places for the carbonate group in the structure are discussed using a comparison with other hexagonal perovskite-based oxycarbonates.