Exploring Phase Transition and Structural Complexity in the Mixed Cation Uranium Oxide CaUNb2O8

Inorg Chem. 2024 Aug 19;63(33):15433-15442. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02496. Epub 2024 Aug 7.

Abstract

The structures and high-temperature phase transition of CaUNb2O8 were studied in situ using synchrotron X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. Rietveld refinements provided an accurate description of the crystal structures of both the monoclinic fergusonite-type I2/b structure observed at room temperature and the tetragonal scheelite-type I41/a structure found at high temperatures. Bond valence sum analysis showed Nb5+ to be octahedrally coordinated in the monoclinic fergusonite-type structure, akin to other ANbO4 materials. Rietveld analysis of the variable temperature data allowed for the determination of accurate unit cell parameters and atomic coordinates, as well as revealing a reversible phase transition around ∼750 °C. The Nb-O bond distances display anomalous behavior, with a discontinuity in the longer Nb-O(1') distance coinciding with the phase transition suggestive of a reconstructive phase transition. Mode analysis identified the Γ2+ mode as the primary mode that drives the phase transition; this is linearly coupled to the induced spontaneous strain within the monoclinic fergusonite-type structure. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the Nb(z) positional parameter, as well as of the ϵ12 and ϵ6 strain parameters, showed that the phase transition is not strictly second order, with the critical exponent β ≠ 1/2. This study demonstrates the complex structural features of mixed cation metal oxides at elevated temperatures.