Ferroelectric perovskite-type barium copper niobate: BaCu1/3Nb2/3O3

A perovskite-type BaCu_1/3Nb_2/3O₃ was prepared by high temperature reaction using BaCO₃, CuO and Nb₂O₅. The X-ray powder diffraction pattern of this compound was indexed with the tetragonal cell with the lattice parameters of a=4.0464(4) and c=4.1807(4) Å (c/a=1.033). This compound had the tetragonal perovskite-type structure in which the B site was occupied statistically by Nb and Cu atoms. From high temperature X-ray powder diffraction patterns this compound had a phase transition from the tetragonal to cubic symmetry in the temperature range of 500-600 °C. The P-E and S-E hysteresis loops occurred at room temperature and the apparent maximum in the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant was observed at 520 °C. The temperature dependence of the inverse of magnetic susceptibility exhibited paramagnetic behavior.     

A structural study of a new lithium oxyfluorotungstate,LiW3O9F

The structure of LiW₃O₉F was determined from 972 single crystal reflections and refined by least squares to anRfactor of 0.065. It has orthorhombic symmetry with space groupFdd2 and parametersa = 12.716(2)A?,b = 15.230(2)A?,c = 7.288(1)A?, andZ = 8. The structure is related to the HTB structure and can be described as a complex stacking of HTB layers perpendicular to theb axis. The lithium atoms are found in the hexagonal cavities of the HTB layers.     

La(Li1/3Ti2/3)O3: a new 1:2 ordered perovskite

A new 1:2 ordered perovskite La(Li_1/3Ti_2/3)O₃ has been synthesized via solid-state techniques. At temperature >1185°C, Li and Ti are randomly distributed on the B-sites and the X-ray powder patterns can be indexed in a tilted (b⁻b⁻c⁺) Pbnm orthorhombic cell (a=a_c√2=5.545 Å, b=a_c√2=5.561 Å, c=2a_c=7.835 Å). However, for T?1175°C, a 1:2 layered ordering of Li and Ti along 〈111〉_c yields a structure with a P2₁/c monoclinic cell with a=a_c√6=9.604 Å, b=a_c√2=5.552 Å, c=a_c3√2=16.661 Å, β=125.12°. While this type of order is well known in the A²⁺(B²⁺_1/3B⁵⁺_2/3)O₃ family of niobates and tantalates, La(Li_1/3Ti_2/3)O₃ is the first example of a titanate perovskite with a 1:2 ordering of cations on the B-sites.     

Ion-selective and complexation properties, vibrational spectra, and crystal and molecular structure of 1,5-bis[2-(hydroxyethoxyphosphoryl)phenoxy]-3-oxapentane

The ion-selective properties of 1,5-bis[2-(hydroxyethoxyphosphoryl)phenoxy]-3-oxapentane H₂R² have been described. The molecular and crystal structure of H₂R² has been determined by powder X-ray crystallography and IR spectroscopy. The molecule has the twofold symmetry axis, orthorhombic crystal system, space group Pbcn, a = 16.830(2) ?, b = 8.866(15) ?, c = 15.7190(2) ?, V = 2346.1(6) ?³, Z = 4. A new CuR² · 2H₂O complex has been synthesized and characterized.     

Synthesis and characterization of the novel Nb3O5F5 niobium oxyfluoride: the term n=3 of the NbnO2n−1Fn+2 series

The solid-state synthesis of the oxyfluoride Nb₃O₅F₅, its crystal structure determined from X-ray powder diffraction data as well as some physical characterizations, are reported. Nb₃O₅F₅ constitutes the term n=3 of the Nb_nO_2n−1F_n+2 series related to the Dion-Jacobson phases. It crystallizes, at room temperature, in the tetragonal system (space group I4/mmm (no. 139); Z=4; a=3.9135(1) Å, c=24.2111(2) Å, and V=370.80(3) Å³). The crystal structure appears to be an in-between of the three-dimensional network of NbO₂F and the two-dimensional packing of NbOF₃ (term n=1 of the Nb_nO_2n−1F_n+2 series). This layered structure consists of slabs made of three Nb(O,F)₆ corner-linked octahedra in thickness (n=3) shifted one from another by a ()/translation. Oxygen and fluorine atoms are randomly distributed over all the ligand sites.     

Ca7Au3 and Ca5Au4, two structures closely related to the Th7Fe3 and Pu5Rh4 types

Two new intermetallic compounds have been synthetized and structurally studied by single crystal diffractometric data: Ca₇Au₃ (oP80, space groupPbca,a = 20.742(8), b = 18.036(8), c = 6.665(2) A?,Z = 8, R = 0.051) and Ca₅Au₄ (mP18, space groupP2₁/c, a = 8.028(3), b = 8.019(6), c = 7.727(3) A?, β = 109.16(6)°,Z = 2, R = 0.104). Both atomic arrangements, which represent new structural types, are based on Au-centered Ca trigonal prisms and are geometrically related to the Th₇Fe₃ and Pu₅Rh₄ structures.     

Order-disorder at Fe sites in SrFe2/3B″1/3O3 (B″=Mo, W, Te, U) tetragonal double perovskites

We have prepared SrFe_2/3B″_1/3O₃ (B″=Mo, U, Te, and W) double perovskites in polycrystalline form by ceramic methods. Phases with B″=U, Te and W have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction and the results have been compared with neutron diffraction data available for B″=Mo. At room temperature, the stoichiometric samples crystallize in the tetragonal crystal system (space group I4/m, Z=4). Cell parameters when B″=U, Te and W are a=5.6936(1) Å, c=8.0637(1)Å; a=5.5776(1) Å, c=7.9144(3) Å and a=5.5707(3) Å, c=7.9081(5) Å, respectively.The Mössbauer spectra at room temperature for all compounds show hyperfine parameters belonging to two Fe³⁺ sites located at lattice positions with different degrees of distortion. This is in agreement with diffraction data that indicate that the series of compounds display different degrees of Fe-site disorder, which increases in the following sequence: Mo<U<Te<W.     

Structure types and phase transformations in KMnCl3 and TlMnCl3

KMnCl₃ and TlMnCl₃ are known to crystallize in tetragonal and cubic perovskite structures, respectively. Room temperature X-ray diffraction data obtained in our laboratory proved that the perovskite structure of KmnCl₃ is orthorhombic. The space group is Pnma and Z = 4. Unit cell parameters are a = 7.08(1), b = 9.97(1), and c = 6.98(1) Å. Experimental data showed that the perovskite structures of KMnCl₃ and TlMnCl₃ are not stable, and that both materials transform slowly into another orthorhombic, nonperovskite KCdCl₃ structure with space group Pnma and Z = 4. Cell parameters of these structures are a = 8.769(7), b = 3.883(9), and c = 14.42(1) Å for KMnCl₃ and a = 8.926(8), b = 3.839(9), and c = 14.77(1) Å for TlMnCl₃. The nonperovskite structures of KMnCl₃ and TlMnCl₃ transform on heating to the perovskite structures and these phase transitions are not immediately reversed. No correlation could be found between the KCdCl₃ structure and water incorporation in the crystal lattice as has been previously suggested. An analysis of the factors that cause the K structure to be exhibited in chloride and to be absent in the fluoride compounds is also presented.     

A new octahedral tilt system in the perovskite phase Ca3Nb2O8

The perovskite-related phase Ca₃Nb₂O₈, when grown as single crystals from a calcium vanadate flux, incorporates a small amount of vanadium from the flux to form the composition Ca₃Nb_2−xV_xO₈ with x=0.025. The crystals have pseudo-cubic symmetry with a=6×a_c(perovskite). The actual symmetry is rhombohedral, space group R3, with a_h=16.910(1) Å, c_h=41.500(2) Å. The structure was solved using a combination of single-crystal methods together with constrained refinements of powder X-ray and neutron powder data. The unit-cell composition is [Ca₁₃₈□₂₄]_A [Ca₄₂Nb₁₁₇V₃]_B[O₄₈₀□₆], with vacancies in both the anion sites and A-cation sites. The Ca and Nb atoms are fully ordered in the B-sites such that (001) layers containing only Nb-centered octahedra alternate with layers containing both Nb-centered and Ca-centered octahedra. At the origin B-site, ordered oxygen vacancies result in the octahedron being transformed to a tetrahedron, which, in the single crystals, is occupied by vanadium. The structure displays a new type of octahedral tilt system in which 3×3×3 blocks of (a⁺a⁺a⁺) tilts are periodically twinned on the pseudo-cubic {1 0 0}_c planes.     

Aurivillius Phases in the Bi4Ti3O12/BiFeO3 System: Thermal Behaviour and Crystal Structure

Four compounds of the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/BiFeO₃ system with the formula Bi₂Bi_n?1(Ti,Fe)_nO_3n+3, n = 3, 4, 4.5 and 6 were studied using high‐temperature X‐ray powder diffraction and differential thermoanalysis methods. The crystal structure of the n = 6 phase was refined by the Rietveld method. An unusual behaviour of thermal expansion attributed to an orthorhombic‐to‐tetragonal transformation was revealed. For all the compounds, the lattice parameter c vs temperature T dependence has three regions in the range of T = 20 –750 °C interpreted as (1) expansion of the initial orthorhombic phase, (2) a pronounced structure reconstruction to the tetragonal phase, (3) an expansion of the tetragonal phase. The crystal structure of Bi₇Ti₃Fe₃O₂₁ based on 6‐layer‐perovskite blocks is proposed from X‐ray powder diffraction data. The Rietveld refinement of the structure in the orthorhombic space group F2mm with lattice parameters a = 5.4699(3), b = 5.4924(3), c = 57.551(3) Å (R_p = 9.4, R_wp = 11.9, R_exp = 4.7, R_B = 4.4 %) shows that a distorted 6‐layer model fits the data of Bi₇Ti₃Fe₃O₂₁.     

New manganites NdM3Sr3Mn4O12 and NdM3Ba3Mn4O12 (M = Li, Na, K): Synthesis and X-ray diffraction characteristics

Manganites NdM₃Sr₃Mn₄O₁₂ and NdM₃Ba₃Mn₄O₁₂ (M = Li, Na, K) were synthesized by a ceramic method from the corresponding oxides and carbonates. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that all the compounds crystallized in the tetragonal crystal system with the following lattice parameters: NdLi₃Sr₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.88 ?, c = 9.52 ?, V ^o = 1126.9 ?³, Z = 4, ρ_X = 4.95 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 4.87 ± 0.05 g/cm³; NdNa₃Sr₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.73 ?, c = 10.66 ?, V ^o = 1227.3 ?³, Z = 4, ρ_X = 4.80 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 4.73 ± 0.07 g/cm³; NdK₃Sr₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.87 ?, c = 11.71 ?, V ^o = 1382.6 ?³, Z = 4, ρ_X = 4.50 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 4.43 ± 0.09 g/cm³; NdLi₃Ba₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.97 ?, c = 10.34 ?, V ^o = 1244.3 ?³, Z = 4, ρ_X = 5.33 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 5.23 ± 0.09 g/cm³; NdNa₃Ba₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.99 ?, c = 11.15 ?, V ^o = 1346.7 ?³, Z = 4; ρ_X = 5.11 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 5.05 ± 0.06 g/cm³; NdK₃Ba₃Mn₄O₁₂: a = 10.997 ?; c = 13.80 ?, V ^o = 1668.9 ?³, Z = 4, ρ_X = 4.32 g/cm³, ρ_pycn = 4.26 ± 0.07 g/cm³. Original Russian Text ? B.K. Kasenov, E.S. Mustafin, M.A. Akubaeva, S.T. Edil’baeva, Sh.B. Kasenova, Zh.I. Sagintaeva, S.Zh. Davrenbekov, 2009, published in Zhurnal Neorganicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 424–427.     

Cluster intergrowth of perovskite and defect sodium chloride type structures in the K---Nb---O system: The structure of KNb4O6

A new reduced potassium niobate (KNb₄O₆) of intergrowth type structure containing condensed Nb₆O₁₂ clusters has been found. The structure has been determined from HREM images. The atomic positions have been refined with the Rietveld technique using X-ray powder diffraction data. The space group of KNb₄O₆ is P4/mmm; Z = 1, and its unit cell parameters are a = 4.1393(1) and c = 8.2537(2). KNb₄O₆ consists of alternating slabs of KNbO₃ (perovskite) and NbO (ordered deficient NaCl-type) both being a single unit thick. The structure is closely related to that of A₂Nb₅O₉ (A = Ba, Sr). Both phases can be considered as members (n = 1 and 2 respectively) of a homologous series A_nNb_3+nO_3+3n. Electron microscopy studies show the presence of defects, both as extra perovskite layers and missing NbO slabs, together with areas of more disordered intergrowth. The profile refinement and microanalysis of individual crystal fragments both indicate the structure to be niobium deficient according to the formula K_1+x/2Nb_4−xO₆.     

Synthesis and X-ray diffraction study of R[UO2(CH3COO)3] (R = H3O+ or NH(C2H5) 3+ )

Single crystals of (H₃O)[UO₂(CH₃COO)₃] (I) and (NH(C₂H₅)₃)[UO₂(CH₃COO)₃] (II) are synthesized, and their structures are studied by X-ray crystallography. Compound I crystallizes in the tetragonal crystal system with the unit cell parameters a = 13.70640(10) ?, c = 27.5258(5) ?, V = 5171.14(11) ?³, space group I4₁/a, Z = 16, R = 0.0238. The crystals of compound II are orthorhombic with the parameters a = 13.3685(3) ?, b = 10.6990(3) ?, c = 12.2616(3) ?, V = 1753.77(8) ?³, space group Pna2₁, Z = 4, R = 0.0228. The uranium-containing structural units of crystals I and II are [UO₂(CH₃COO)₃]⁻ island mononuclear groups belonging to the A B₃⁰¹(A = UO₂²⁺, B⁰¹ = CH₃COO⁻) crystal-chemical group of uranyl complexes. [UO₂(CH₃COO)₃]⁻ complexes are linked into a three-dimensional framework by electrostatic interactions with the outer-sphere cations and by hydrogen bonds involving the hydrogen atoms of hydroxonium (I) or triethylammonium (II) with the oxygen atoms of the acetato groups.     

Crystal structure of the new thorium intermetallics Thin and Th6Cd7

The title phases are orthorhombic: ThIn,oP24, space groupPbcm,a = 10.806(3)A?,b = 9.954(4)A?,c = 6.520(4)A?,Z = 12; Th₆Cd₇,oP26, space groupPbam,a = 11.703(3),A?,b = 9.929(7)A?,c = 6.041(2)A?,Z = 2. Direct methods were used for both structure solutions on data collected with an automated single crystal X-ray diffractometer. Anisotropic refinements gaveR = 0.065for ThIn andR = 0.086for Th₆Cd₇ using 799 and 1015 reflections, respectively. The structure of ThIn is closely related to the hexagonal Ti₅Ga₄ type, from which it can be geometrically derived. Th₆Cd₇ can be regarded as a tetrahedrally close packed structure where the Th atoms present the typical CN 14, CN 15, and CN 16 Frank-Kasper polyhedra and the Cd atoms are icosahedrally coordinated.     

Crystal structure, thermal expansion and conductivity of anisotropic La1−xSrxGa1−2xMg2xO3−y (x=0.05, 0.1) single crystals

Crystal structure and anisotropy of the thermal expansion of single crystals of La_1−xSr_xGa_1−2xMg_2xO_3−y (x=0.05 and 0.1) were measured in the temperature range 300-1270 K. High-resolution X-ray powder diffraction data obtained by synchrotron experiments have been used to determine the crystal structure and thermal expansion. The room temperature structure of the crystal with x=0.05 was found to be orthorhombic (Imma, Z=4, a=7.79423(3) Å, b=5.49896(2) Å, c=5.53806(2) Å), whereas the symmetry of the x=0.1 crystal is monoclinic (I2/a, Z=4, a=7.82129(5) Å, b=5.54361(3) Å, c=5.51654(4) Å, β=90.040(1)°). The conductivity in two orthogonal directions of the crystals has been studied. Both, the conductivity and the structural data indicate three phase transitions in La_0.95Sr_0.05Ga_0.9Mg_0.1O_2.92 at 520-570 K (Imma-I2/a), 770 K (I2/a-R3c) and at 870 K (R3c-R-3c), respectively. Two transitions at 770 K (I2/a-R3c) and in the range 870-970 K (R3c-R-3c) occur in La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_2.85.     

Transmission electron microscopy study of Ruddlesden-Popper Can+1MnnO3n+1n=2 and 3 compounds

Two Ruddlesden-Popper compounds Ca_n+1Mn_nO_3n+1 with n=2 and 3 synthesized by a citrate gel technique have been studied by TEM. The structure of Ca₄Mn₃O₁₀ is consistent with the previously determined structure having the space group Pbca and a⁻ a⁻ c⁺/a⁻ a⁻ c⁺ tilt system. The presence of defects suggests the possible high-temperature phase transition from untilted I4/mmm to Pbca. The structure of Ca₃Mn₂O₇ was found to be different from the previously suggested I4/mmm symmetry. Ca₃Mn₂O₇ forms with an orthorhombic structure with either Cmcm or Cmc2₁ space group. A structural model for Cmc2₁ based on the tilting of almost-rigid octahedra with a⁺ c⁻ c⁻/a⁺ c⁻ c⁻ tilt system is proposed. The lamellar defects were shown to be twin variants of the Cmc2₁ structure with the (001)_t interfaces, which suggests the possible tilting phase transition from the ideal I4/mmm to Cmc2₁ following the maximal group-subgroup symmetry tree: I4/mmm→Fmmm→Bbmm(Cmcm)→Bb2₁m(Cmc2₁).     

Order-disorder in In perovskites: The example of A(In2/3B″1/3)O3 (A=Ba, Sr; B″=W, U)

We describe the preparation and structural characterization of four In-containing perovskites from neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) data. Sr₃In₂B″O₉ and Ba(In_2/3B″_1/3)O₃ (B″=W, U) were synthesized by standard ceramic procedures. The crystal structure of the W-containing perovskites and Ba(In_2/3U_1/3)O₃ have been revisited based on our high-resolution NPD and XRPD data, while for the new U-containing perovskite Sr₃In₂UO₉ the structural refinement was carried out from high-resolution XRPD data. At room temperature, the crystal structure for the two Sr phases is monoclinic, space group P2₁/n, where the In atoms occupy two different sites Sr₂[In]_2d[In_1/3B″_2/3]_2cO₆, with a=5.7548(2) Å, b=5.7706(2) Å, c=8.1432(3) Å, β=90.01(1)° for B″=W and a=5.861(1) Å, b=5.908(1) Å, c=8.315(2) Å, β=89.98(1)° for B″=U. The two phases with A=Ba should be described in a simple cubic perovskite unit cell (S.G. Pm3¯m) with In and B″ distributed at random at the octahedral sites, with a=4.16111(1) Å and 4.24941(1) Å for W and U compounds, respectively.     

Structure Study of Bi2.5Na0.5Ta2O9 and Bi2.5Nam−1.5NbmO3m+3 (m=2-4) by Neutron Powder Diffraction and Electron Microscopy

The crystal structures of Bi_2.5Na_0.5Ta₂O₉ and Bi_2.5Na_m-1.5Nb_mO_3m+3 (m=3,4) have been investigated by the Rietveld analysis of their neutron powder diffraction patterns (λ=1.470 Å). These compounds belong to the Aurivillius phase family and are built up by (Bi₂O₂)²⁺ fluorite layers and (A_m-1B_mO_3m+1)^2- (m=2-4) pseudo-perovskite slabs. Bi_2.5Na_0.5Ta₂O₉ (m=2) and Bi_2.5Na_2.5Nb₄O₁₅ (m=4) crystallize in the orthorhombic space group A2₁am, Z=4, with lattice constants of a=5.4763(4), b=5.4478(4), c=24.9710 (15) and a=5.5095(5), b=5.4783(5), c=40.553(3) Å, respectively. Bi_2.5Na_1.5Nb₃O₁₂ (m=3) has been refined in the orthorhombic space group B2cb, Z=4, with the unit-cell parameters a=5.5024(7), b=5.4622(7), and c=32.735(4) Å. In comparison with its isostructural Nb analogue, the structure of Bi_2.5Na_0.5Ta₂O₉ is less distorted and bond valence sum calculations indicate that the Ta-O bonds are somewhat stronger than the Nb-O bonds. The cell parameters a and b increase with increasing m for the compounds Bi_2.5Na_m-1.5Nb_mO_3m+3 (m=2-4), causing a greater strain in the structure. Electron microscopy studies verify that the intergrowth of mixed perovskite layers, caused by stacking faults, also increases with increasing m.     

Synthesis and structure determination of the new Sm2Ti2O5S2 compound

Sm₂Ti₂O₅S₂ was obtained in an attempt to prepare an oxysulfide of samarium and titanium in a way similar to the obtention of the quaternary Sm₃NbO₄Se₃ compound. The structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The following crystal data were obtained: M_r = 540.6 g mol⁻¹, tetragonal symmetry with unit cell parameters a = 3.819(1) A, c = 22.964(5) A, space group I4/mmm (139). Refinement for 127 unique reflections with I > 3σ(1), and 11 variables, converged to the reliability factor R = 1.77 %. The structure can be described as a stacking, along the c-direction, of [Sm₂S₂] slabs of a rock-salt type (two-atom-thick-layers) separated by a 2D network of corner-sharing octahedra [= Ti₂O₅] of a ReO₃ structure type.     

Crystal structure of 2-butylamino-3-(4-fluorophenyl) benzofuro[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one

The title compound (C₂₀H₁₈FN₃O₂, Mr = 351.37) is prepared and its crystal structure is determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal is tetragonal, the P-42(1)c space group with a = 11.0922(6) ?, b = 11.0922(6) ?, c = 28.6271(15) ?, V = 3522.2(3) ?³, Z = 8, d _x = 1.325 g/cm³, F(000) = 1472, μ = 0.095 mm⁻¹, MoK _α radiation (λ = 0.71073), R = 0.0505, wR = 0.1090 for 2433 observed reflections with I > 2σ(I). The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that all ring atoms in the benzo[4,5]furo[3,2-d]pyrimidinone moieties are almost coplanar.