Cubic ZrW1.75Mo0.25O8 from a Rietveld refinement based on neutron powder diffraction data

摘要

The solid solution in the system Zr–Mo–W–O with composition ZrW1.75Mo0.25O8 (zirconium tungsten molybdenum octa­oxide) was prepared by solid-state reactions as a polycrystalline material. Its structure has cubic symmetry (space group P213) at room temperature. The structure contains a network of corner-sharing ZrO6 octa­hedra (.3. symmetry) and MO4 (M = W, Mo) tetra­hedra (.3. symmetry). Along the main threefold axis of the cubic unit cell, the MO4 tetra­hedra are arranged in pairs forming M 2O8 units in which the M1O4 tetra­hedra have larger distortions in terms of bond distances and angles than the M2O4 tetra­hedra. These units are disordered over two possible orientations, with the M—Oterminal vectors pointing to the [111] or [ ] directions. The reversal of the orientations of the M 2O8 units results from the concerted flips of these units. The time-averaged proportions of flipped and unflipped M 2O8 units were determined and the fraction of unflipped M ₂O₈ units is about 0.95. The order degree of the M ₂O₈ unit orientation is about 0.9. During the reversal process, the M-atom site has a migration about 0.93 Å, one of the O-atom sites has a 0.25 Å migration distance, whereas two other O-atom sites migrate marginally (≃ 0.08 Å). The results prove the constraint strategy to be a reasonable approach based on the ratcheting mechanism.