Phase stability and structural temperature dependence in sodium niobate: A high resolution powder neutron diffraction study

We report investigation of structural phase transitions in technologically important material sodium niobate as a function of temperature on heating over 300-1075 K. Our high resolution powder neutron diffraction data show variety of structural phase transitions ranging from non-polar antiferrodistortive to ferroelectric and antiferroelectric in nature. Discontinuous jump in lattice parameters is found only at 633 K that indicates that the transition of orthorhombic antiferroelectric P (space group Pbcm) to R (space group Pbnm) phase is first order in nature, while other successive phase transitions are of second order. New superlattice reflections appear at 680 K (R phase) and 770 K (S phase) that could be indexed using an intermediate long-period modulated orthorhombic structure whose lattice parameter along direction is 3 and 6 times that of the CaTiO3-like Pbnm structure respectively. The correlation of superlattice reflections with the phonon instability is discussed. The critical exponent ({\beta}) for the second order tetragonal to cubic phase transition at 950 K, corresponds to a value {\beta}$\approx 1/3$, as obtained from the temperature variation of order parameters (tilt angle and intensity of superlattice reflections). It is argued that this exponent is due to a second order phase transition close to a tricritical point. Based on our detailed temperature dependent neutron diffraction studies, the phase diagram of sodium niobate is presented that resolves existing ambiguities in the literature.Comment: 21 Pages, 8 Figure

The Freundlich model of adsorption for calculation of specific surface areaS

The specific surface area of solids and the surface area occupied by the active phase (metal or oxide) on a support are parameters of the utmost importance in adsorption and catalysis. For the determination of the former, the BET equation is universally established. For the evaluation of the latter the works of selective chemisorption, initiated by Emmett and Brunauer (I ), for metals and by Bridges et al. (2) and Weller et al. (3), for oxides have come to represent important contributions. Some of the classical models of adsorption have also been used for evaluation of specific surfaces (Langmuir equation) (4) and the dispersion of supported metals or oxides (Freundlich equation) (5). Both of them are applicable to physisorption as well as chemisorption processes

Synthesis and characterization of Ca2CoTaO6, a new monoclinically distorted double perovskite

The new Ca2CoTaO6 double perovskite has been synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction and its unit cell parameters determined by X-ray powder diffractometry. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/n. The unit cell parameters are: a = 5.507(2) Å; b = 5.564(3) Å; c = 7.798(3) Å; β = 89.99(4)° and Z = 2. The IR spectrum of the material was recorded and is briefly discussed. Some comparisons with Ca2CoNbO6 and other isostructural perovskites are also performed