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Single-crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction study of garnet-type solid-state electrolyte Li6La3ZrTaO12: An in situ temperature-dependence investigation (2.5 ≤ T ≤ 873 K)
2021, Redhammer, Günther J., Meven, Martin, Ganschow, Steffen, Tippelt, Gerold, Rettenwander, Daniel
Large single crystals of garnet-type Li6La3ZrTaO12 (LLZTO) were grown by the Czochralski method and analysed using neutron diffraction between 2.5 and 873 K in order to fully characterize the Li atom distribution, and possible Li ion mobility in this class of potential candidates for solid-state electrolyte battery material. LLZTO retains its cubic symmetry (space group Ia 3 d) over the complete temperature range. When compared to other sites, the octahedral sites behave as the most rigid unit and show the smallest increase in atomic displacement parameters and bond length. The La and Li sites show similar thermal expansion in their bond lengths with temperature, and the anisotropic and equivalent atomic displacement parameters exhibit a distinctly larger increase at temperatures above 400 K. Detailed inspection of nuclear densities at the Li1 site reveal a small but significant displacement from the 24d position to the typical 96h position, which cannot, however, be resolved from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The site occupation of LiI ions on Li1 and Li2 sites remains constant, so there is no change in site occupation with temperature. © 2021 International Union of Crystallography. All rights reserved.
A neutron diffraction study of crystal and low-temperature magnetic structures within the (Na,Li)FeGe2O6 pyroxene-type solid solution series
2017-5-12, Redhammer, Günther J., Senyshyn, Anatoliy, Lebernegg, Stefan, Tippelt, Gerold, Dachs, Edgar, Roth, Georg
Solid solution compounds along the Li1–x Na x FeGe2O6 clinopyroxene series have been prepared by solid state ceramic sintering and investigated by bulk magnetic and calorimetric methods; the Na-rich samples with x(Na) > 0.7 were also investigated by low-temperature neutron diffraction experiments in a temperature range of 4–20 K. For samples with x(Na) > 0.76 the crystal structure adopts the C2/c symmetry at all measuring temperatures, while the samples display P21/c symmetry for smaller Na contents. Magnetic ordering is observed for all samples below 20 K with a slight decrease of T N with increasing Na content. The magnetic spin structures change distinctly as a function of chemical composition: up to x(Na) = 0.72 the magnetic structure can be described by a commensurate arrangement of magnetic spins with propagation vector k = (½, 0 0), an antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling within the Fe3+O6 octahedra zig-zag chains and an alternating AFM and ferromagnetic (FM) interaction between the chains, depending on the nature of the tetrahedral GeO4 chains. The magnetic structure can be described in magnetic space group P a21/c. Close to the structural phase transition for sample with x(Na) = 0.75, magnetic ordering is observed below 15 K; however, it becomes incommensurately modulated with k = (0.344, 0, 0.063). At 4 K, the magnetic spin structure best can be described by a cycloidal arrangement within the M1 chains, the spins are within the a–c plane. Around 12 K the cycloidal structure transforms to a spin density wave (SDW) structure. For the C2/c structures, a coexistence of a simple collinear and an incommensurately modulated structure is observed down to lowest temperatures. For 0.78 ≤ x(Na) ≤ 0.82, a collinear magnetic structure with k = (0 1 0), space group P C21/c and an AFM spin structure within the M1 chains and an FM one between the spins is dominating, while the incommensurately modulated structure becomes dominating the collinear one in the samples with x(Na) = 0.88. Here the magnetic propagation vector is k = (0.28, 1, 0.07) and the spin structure corresponds again to a cycloidal structure within the M1 chains. As for the other samples, a transition from the cycloidal to a SDW structure is observed. Based on the neutron diffraction data, the appearance of two peaks in the heat capacity of Na-rich samples can now be interpreted as a transition from a cycloidal magnetic structure to a spin density wave structure of the magnetically ordered phase for the Na-rich part of the solid solution series.