Neutron and Raman scattering studies of surface adsorbed molecular vibrations and bulk phonons in ZrO{sub 2} nanoparticles

Inelastic neutron scattering was used to study the phonon densities of states of zirconia nanoparticles, the O-H stretch vibrations of physisorbed water molecules, and chemisorbed hydroxyl groups on the surface. Raman scattering was also used to measure the zone-center phonon modes. The observed distinct phonon frequencies and band widths at 10-120 meV reflect the different crystalline symmetries and compositional fluctuations in the small grain and interfacial regions of monoclinic ZrO{sub 2}, tetragonal or mixed cubic and tetragonal rare-earth-modified zirconia. The dynamics of water and hydroxyl groups on varying local structures of these zirconias result in the different frequencies of the O-H stretch vibrations at 400-600 meV

Phonon and magnetic excitations in neodymium pentaphosphate

The structure of NdP{sub 5}O{sub 14} consists of cross-linked double chains of corner-sharing PO{sub 4} tetrahedra extending parallel to the crystallographic a-axis. Each Nd atom is coordinated by 8 oxygen atoms. The NdO{sub 8} polyhedra are isolated from each other and share no common oxygen atoms. High-gain and long-lifetime laser action had been reported in NdP{sub 5}O{sub 14} crystals. The neutron excitation spectra reveal a one-phonon density of states extended to about 180 meV with several distinct P-O stretching bands at high energies. These features reflect the existence of different P-O bond lengths among the terminal and bridging configurations and the associated atomic dynamics. Furthermore, magnetic scattering from Nd ions permitted the determination of the energy-level structure of the crystal-field-split Nd:{sup 4}I{sub 9/2} ground term