From Fluorite to Pyrochlore: Characterisation of Local and Average Structure of Neodymium Zirconate, Nd2Zr2O7

Payne, Julia; Tucker, Matt; Evans, Ivana R

Abstract

The structural characterisation of Nd2Zr2O7 prepared via a precursor route was performed using a combination of local and average structure probes (neutron total scattering, X-ray and neutron diffraction). We present the first total scattering and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modelling study of Nd2Zr2O7, which provides compelling evidence for the adoption of a disordered fluorite-type structure by Nd2Zr2O7 prepared by a low-temperature precursor route. Annealing the material at high temperatures leads to a transformation to a pyrochlore-type structure; however, Rietveld refinement using powder neutron diffraction data shows that the oxygen sublattice retains a degree of disorder.

Citation

Payne, J., Tucker, M., & Evans, I. R. (2013). From Fluorite to Pyrochlore: Characterisation of Local and Average Structure of Neodymium Zirconate, Nd2Zr2O7. Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 205, 29-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2013.07.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Oct 15, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 28, 2015
• Journal: Journal of Solid State Chemistry
• Print ISSN: 0022-4596
• Electronic ISSN: 1095-726X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 205
• Pages: 29-34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssc.2013.07.001
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1419316