The high‐pressure form of cadmium vanadate,CdV2O6

The crystal structure of a new high‐pressure modification of cadmium divanadium hexaoxide, CdV₂O₆, was refined from X‐ray single‐crystal data. It contains zigzag chains of edge‐sharing VO₆ octahedra. Octahedra in adjacent chains share corners and form corrugated layers. Octahedrally coordinated Cd atoms, which lie on twofold axes, are situated between the layers. The columbite‐like structure results in a strong distortion of the CdO₆ octahedra which may be stabilized only at high pressure.     

Fullerides: heterometallic superconductors with composition M<Subscript>2</Subscript>M′C<Subscript>60</Subscript> (M = K,Rb; M′ = Yb,Lu, Sc)

One- or two-step reactions of potassium and rubidium fullerides with composition M_k C₆₀ (M = K, Rb; k = 3—6) and K₆C₆₀ + m K mixtures (m = 1, 3) with anhydrous salts MCl₃ (M = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Yb, Lu, Y, Sc) and YbI₂ in a toluene—THF medium afforded heterometallic fullerides M_3–nM_nC₆₀ (n = 1—3). Among these compounds, substituted fullerides with composition M₂MC₆₀ (M = Yb, Lu, Sc) display superconducting properties with critical temperatures of 14—20 K.Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1623–1628, August, 2004.     

Crystal structure of the pyrovanadate K4V2O7

The crystal structure of anhydrous K₄V₂O₇ (I) is determined by powder X-ray diffraction. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system (a = 10.222(1) Å, b = 6.2309(8) Å, c = 7.282(1) Å, β = 101.31(1)°, space group C2/m, Z = 2). The structure contains layers of isolated V₂O₇ pyrovanadate groups separated by layers of potassium cations. The hydration and dehydration of I are studied by thermal analysis and high-temperature X-ray diffraction. The dehydration is accompanied by decomposition of the starting crystal hydrate to give intermediate compounds. Anhydrous compound I undergoes a reversible phase transition at 740°C. The high-temperature phase is assumed to have a hexagonal unit cell (a = 6.169(4) Å, c = 15.72(1) Å, Z = 2).     

Inducing superconductivity and structural transformations by fluorination of reduced YBCO

Bulk superconductivity with T_c up to 94 K has been induced by fluorination of non-superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_6.11 using XeF₂ as a fluorination agent. Strong changes on X-ray patterns were found after fluorination of reduced YBCO. High resolution electron microscopy of superconducting samples showed the presence of a new phase with c ≈ 13 Å which exists as noticeable areas included within a matrix of the 123 structure or which occurs as isolated defects with a limited extension. All fluorinated compounds exhibited a strong disorder along the c-direction resulting in a ‘loss’ of c-parameter on X-ray patterns. The present results demonstrate that fluorine indeed enters the YBCO structure with a significant structural rearrangement for the high level of fluorination. The structure of the fully fluorinated YBa₂Cu₃O₆F₂ phase, possibly responsible for superconductivity, has been deduced from high resolution electron microscopy.     

The new lead vanadylphosphate Pb2VO(PO4)2

The structure of dilead vanadium oxide bis­(phosphate) contains corrugated layers formed by VO₅ square pyramids oriented in opposite directions in a chessboard fashion. The pyramids are connected by tetra­hedral PO₄ groups. The layers are separated by the Pb atoms and isolated PO₄ tetra­hedra.     

Spherically symmetric inhomogeneous dust collapse in higher dimensional space-time and cosmic censorship hypothesis

We consider a collapsing spherically symmetric inhomogeneous dust cloud in higher dimensional space-time. We show that the central singularity of collapse can be a strong curvature or a weak curvature naked singularity depending on the initial density distribution.