Structural Study of the Apatite Nd 8 Sr 2 Si 6 O 26 by Laue Neutron Diffraction and Single-Crystal Raman Spectroscopy

A single-crystal structure determination of Nd8Sr2Si6O26 apatite, a prototype intermediate-temperature electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells grown by the floating-zone method, was completed using the combination of Laue neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. While neutron diffraction was in go...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: An, Tao, Orera, Alodia, Baikie, Tom, Herrin, Jason S., Piltz, Ross O., Slater, Peter R., Sanjuán, María L., White, Timothy John
Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/82206
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/39816
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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Summary:A single-crystal structure determination of Nd8Sr2Si6O26 apatite, a prototype intermediate-temperature electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells grown by the floating-zone method, was completed using the combination of Laue neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. While neutron diffraction was in good agreement with P63/m symmetry, the possibility of P63 could not be convincingly excluded. This ambiguity was removed by the collection of orientation-dependent Raman spectra that could only be consistent with P63/m. The composition of Nd8Sr2Si6O26 was independently verified by powder X-ray diffraction in combination with electron probe microanalysis, with the latter confirming a homogeneous distribution of Sr and the absence of chemical zonation commonly observed in apatites. This comprehensive crystallochemical description of Nd8Sr2Si6O26 provides a baseline to quantify the efficacy of cation vacancies, oxygen superstoichiometry, and symmetry modification for promoting oxygen-ion mobility.