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Register a new userCrystal structure of dense pseudo-cubic boron allotrope, pc-B52, by powder X-ray diffraction
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Added by
Oleksandr Kurakevych
Publication date
2013
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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During past years, a number of reports have been published on synthesis of tetragonal allotrope of boron, t-B52 phase. However, no unambiguous characterization of the crystal structure has been performed to the present time, while remarkable variation of the a/c lattice-parameter ratio raises strong doubts about its uniqueness. Here the Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure of the high pressure - high temperature boron phase synthesized by a direct solid-state transformation of rhombohedral beta-B106 at 20 GPa and 2500 K has been reported for the first time. Although this boron allotrope belongs to the t-B52 type, its structure can be considered as pseudo-cubic with the a/c ratio of sqr(2).
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The diffraction technique is widely used in the determination of crystal structures and is one of the bases for the modern science and technology. All related structure determination methods are based on the assumption that perfect single crystal X-ray diffraction (SXRD) can determine a structure uniquely. But as the structure factor phases are lost in SXRD and even more information is lost in powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), this assumption is still questionable. In this work, we found that structures with certain characteristic can have its sister structure with exactly the same PXRD or even SXRD pattern. A computer program is developed to search the ICSD database, and about 1000 structures were identified to have this characteristic. The original structure and its sister structures can have different space groups, topologies, crystal systems etc. and some may even have multiple sisters. Our studies indicate that special caution is needed since a structure with reasonable atomic positions and perfect match of experimental diffraction intensities could still be wrong.
A coherent x-ray diffraction experiment was performed on an isolated colloidal crystal grain at the coherence beamline P10 at PETRA III. Using azimuthal rotation scans the three-dimensional (3D) scattered intensity in reciprocal space from the sample was measured. It includes several Bragg peaks as well as the coherent interference around these peaks. The analysis of the scattered intensity reveals the presence of a plane defect in a single grain of the colloidal sample. We confirm these findings by model simulations. In these simulations we also analyze the experimental conditions to phase 3D diffraction pattern from a single colloidal grain. This approach has the potential to produce a high resolution image of the sample revealing its inner structure, with possible structural defects.
Information on the lattice parameter of single crystals with known crystallographic structure allows for estimations of sample quality and composition. In many cases it is suffcient to determine one lattice parameter or the lattice spacing along a certain, high-symmetry direction, e.g. in order to determine the composition in a substitution series by taking advantage of Vegards rule. Here we present a guide to accurate measurements of single crystals with dimensions ranging from 200 $mu$m up to several millimeter using a standard powder diffractometer in Bragg-Brentano geometry. The correction of the error introduced by the sample height and the optimization of the alignment are discussed in detail. In particular for single crystals with a plate-like habit, the described procedure allows for measurement of the lattice spacings normal to the plates with high accuracy on a timescale of minutes.
The 300 K equation of state of cubic (zinc-blende) boron phosphide BP has been studied by in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation up to 55 GPa. The measurements have been performed under quasi-hydrostatic conditions using a Ne pressure medium in a diamond anvil cell. A fit of the experimental p-V data to the Vinet equation of state yields the bulk modulus B0 of 179(1) GPa with its pressure derivative of 3.3(1). These values are in a good agreement with previous elastic measurements, as well as with semiempirical estimations.
Thanks to the remarkable developments of ultrafast science, one of todays challenges is to modify material state by controlling with a light pulse the coherent motions that connect two different phases. Here we show how strain waves, launched by electronic and structural precursor phenomena, determine a macroscopic transformation pathway for the semiconducting-to-metal transition with large volume change in bistable Ti$_3$O$_5$ nanocrystals. Femtosecond powder X-ray diffraction allowed us to quantify the structural deformations associated with the photoinduced phase transition on relevant time scales. We monitored the early intra-cell distortions around absorbing metal dimers, but also long range crystalline deformations dynamically governed by acoustic waves launched at the laser-exposed Ti$_3$O$_5$ surface. We rationalize these observations with a simplified elastic model, demonstrating that a macroscopic transformation occurs concomitantly with the propagating acoustic wavefront on the picosecond timescale, several decades earlier than the subsequent thermal processes governed by heat diffusion.
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