1 research outputs found
Zero Thermal Expansion and Abrupt Amorphization on Compression in Anion Excess ReO<sub>3</sub>‑Type Cubic YbZrF<sub>7</sub>
Heat
treatment of cubic YbZrF<sub>7</sub>, after quenching from
1000 °C, leads to a material displaying precisely zero thermal
expansion at ∼300 K and negative thermal expansion at lower
temperatures. The zero thermal expansion is associated with a minimum
in the lattice constant at ∼300 K. X-ray total scattering measurements
are consistent with a previously proposed model in which the incorporation
of interstitial fluoride into the ReO<sub>3</sub>-related structure
leads to both edge and corner sharing coordination polyhedra. The
temperature dependence of the experimental pair correlation functions
suggests that the expansions of edge and corner sharing links partly
compensate for one another, supporting the hypothesis that the deliberate
incorporation of excess fluoride into ReO<sub>3</sub> structure materials
can be used as a design strategy for controlling thermal expansion.
Cubic YbZrF<sub>7</sub> has a bulk modulus, <i>K</i><sub>0</sub>, of 55.4(7) GPa and displays pronounced pressure-induced
softening [<i>K</i><sub>0</sub>′ = −27.7(6)]
prior to an abrupt amorphization on compression above 0.95 GPa. The
resulting glass shows a single sharp scattering maximum at <i>Q</i> ∼ 1.6 Å<sup>–1</sup>