Crystal structure of bismuth-containing NdFe3(BO3)4 in the temperature range 20-500†K.

Neodymium iron borate NdFe3(BO3)4 is an intensively studied multiferroic with high electric polarization values controlled by a magnetic field. It is characterized by a large quadratic magnetoelectric effect, rigidity in the base plane and a rather strong piezoelectric effect. In this work, the atomic structure of (Nd0.91Bi0.09)Fe3(BO3)4 was studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction in the temperature range 20-500 K (space group R32, Z = 3). The Bi atoms found in the composition partially substitute the Nd atoms in the 3a position; they entered the structure due to the growth conditions in the presence of Bi2Mo3O12. It was shown that in the temperature range 20-500 K there is no structural phase transition R32→P3121, which occurs in rare-earth iron borates (RE = Eu-Er, Y) with an effective rare-earth cation radius smaller than that of Nd. The temperature dependence of the unit-cell c parameter reveals a slight increase on cooling below 90 K, which is similar to the results obtained previously for iron borates of Gd, Y and Ho. The atomic distances (Nd,Bi)-O, (Nd,Bi)-B, (Nd,Bi)-Fe, Fe-O, Fe-B and Fe-Fe in the iron chains and between chains decrease steadily with decreasing temperature from 500 to 90 K, whereas the B1(3b)-O distance does not change and the average B2(9e)-O distance increases slightly. There is a uniform decrease in the atomic displacement parameters with decreasing temperature, with a more pronounced decrease for the Nd(3a) and O2(9e) atoms. The O2(9e) atoms are characterized by the maximum atomic displacement parameters and the most elongated atomic displacement ellipsoids. The characteristic Debye and Einstein temperatures, and the static component in the atomic displacements were determined for cations using multi-temperature diffraction data. It was shown that the Nd cations have the weakest bonds with the surrounding atoms and the B cations have the strongest.

A new Tl4.86Fe0.82Hf1.18(MoO4)6 ternary molybdate: crystal structure and properties.

Single crystals of Tl4.86Fe0.82Hf1.18(MoO4)6 [a = b = 10.5550 (3), c = 37.7824 (9) Å, γ = 120°] are obtained by the self-flux method in the Tl2MoO4-Fe2(MoO4)3-Hf(MoO4)2 system. On the differential scanning calorimetry curve in the temperature range 320-350 K and at T ∼ 690 K, endothermic peaks are observed. The second harmonic generation test shows an excess of the signal of the quartz standard by almost three times at room temperature. In the range 320-340 K its intensity decreases by almost three times and at T ∼ 700 K it drops to zero. In the same interval, the temperature dependences of the unit-cell parameters and volume show stepwise changes. According to the X-ray diffraction data, the crystal structure consists of nonpolar and polar domains with different local symmetries. The structure is a three-dimensional framework consisting of alternating (Hf,Fe)O6 octahedra connected by MoO4 tetrahedra. Hf and Fe atoms occupy mixed Hf/Fe positions with different probabilities: 0.77:0.23, 0.50:0.50 and 0.32:0.68. Tl cations are located inside the framework in zigzag channels extended along the a and b axes. The thallium arrangement is disordered, i.e. it involves additional positions and vacancies. The complex crystal structure has been solved using the nonstandard space group R1, taking into account the local symmetry R3c for the Mo atoms and mixed Hf/Fe positions mainly occupied by Hf atoms. The possible paths of ion transport are analyzed. The energy required to overcome the potential barrier between sites of Tl cations to migrate, which corresponds to the activation energy of conductivity, is estimated. The ion current is shown to be most probable in the ab plane.