Synthesis and structure refinement of polycrystalline solid solution: Na1+xZr2-xSbxP3O12 (x=0.1)

摘要

The solid solution of Na1 + x Zr2 -x SbxP3O12 (x = 0.1) was prepared at 1,000 degrees C by ceramic route. The ceramic material belonging to sodium zirconium phosphate (hereafter NZP) family crystallizes in space group R-3c with unit cell parameters: a = b = 8.77283(16) angstrom, c = 22.8375(7) angstrom, alpha = beta = 90.0 degrees gamma = 120.0 degrees and Z = 6. The structure of the title phase has been determined by Rietveld refinement of the powder diffraction data on GSAS software. The refinement converges to a satisfactory structure fit with R-p = 0.0764, R-wp = 0.1099 and RF2 = 0.0450. The interatomic distances and bond angles are in good agreement with their standard values. The particle size along prominent reflecting planes ranges between 13 and 50 nm. The polyhedral (ZrO6 and PO4 and NaO8) distortions and valence calculations from bond strength data are also reported. The investigations show that the Sb+3 cation occupies the zirconium (A(VI)) site of NZP structural framework and resultant charge compensation takes place through partial occupation of M-2 site by Na+ ions.