Structural study of levitated liquid Y2O3 using neutron scattering

The local structure of liquid Y₂O₃ at 2800 K has been investigated by combining aerodynamic levitation and laser heating with the neutron scattering technique. Despite relatively low counting statistics, we have been able to determine the short-range order in the liquid. In particular, we found Y–O and Y–Y coordination numbers around 6 and 12, confirming our previous study by anomalous X-ray scattering. The unusually sharp main diffraction peak observed with X-ray measurements, and characteristic of a high degree of chemical ordering, is strongly reduced in the neutron structure factor and thus indicates that it is mostly due to Y–Y correlations.