Crystal Growth and Structure Determination of Barium Rhodates: Stepping Stones toward 2H−BaRhO3

Synthesis, Characterization, and Magnetic Properties of Uranium-Containing 2H-Perovskite-Related Sulfides: Ba3MUS6 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) and Ba3Co0.858(5)Mg0.142(5)US6

The uranium-containing 2H-perovskite-related chalcogenide family of compounds was revisited using the recently developed boron-chalcogen mixture (BCM) method for actinides to aid in their syntheses and to obtain magnetic measurements. Two known 2H-perovskite-related structures, Ba3MnUS6 and Ba3FeUS6, were synthesized using the BCM method and were found to exhibit antiferromagnetic transitions at TN = ∼7.6 and 10.8 K, respectively. Combining the BCM method with the molten flux crystal growth technique resulted in single crystals of three new compositions, Ba3NiUS6, Ba3CoUS6, and Ba3Co0.858(5)Mg0.142(5)US6, the synthesis and characterization of which is reported. Magnetic measurements of Ba3NiUS6 revealed a complex magnetic susceptibility consisting of a weak, glassy, antiferromagnetic transition near 65 K followed by an antiferromagnetic transition at TN = ∼18 K. A reduced radius ratio plot for the existing chalcogenide compositions and new additions to this structure type reported herein is presented to aid in the search for additional 2H-perovskite-related sulfides.

A Family of A-Site Cation-Deficient Double-Perovskite-Related Iridates: Ln9Sr2Ir4O24 (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm)

The compositions of the general formula Ln_{11- x}Sr _xIr₄O₂₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm; 1.37 ≥ x ≥ 2) belonging to a family of A-site cation-deficient double-perovskite-related oxide iridates were grown as highly faceted single crystals from a molten strontium chloride flux. Their structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. On the basis of the single-crystal results, additional compositions, Ln₉Sr₂Ir₄O₂₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm), were prepared as polycrystalline powders via solid-state reactions and structurally characterized by Rietveld refinement. The compositions Ln₉Sr₂Ir₄O₂₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm) contain Ir(V) and Ir(IV) in a 1:3 ratio with an average iridium oxidation state of 4.25. The single-crystal compositions La_9.15Sr_1.85Ir₄O₂₄ and Pr_9.63Sr_1.37Ir₄O₂₄ contain relatively less Ir(V), with the average iridium oxidation states being 4.21 and 4.09, respectively. The magnetic properties of Ln₉Sr₂Ir₄O₂₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm) were measured, and complex magnetic behavior was observed in all cases at temperatures below 30 K.

Four-dimensional space groups for pedestrians: composite structures

Higher-dimensional crystals have been studied for the last thirty years. However, most practicing chemists, materials scientists, and crystallographers continue to eschew the use of higher-dimensional crystallography in their work. Yet it has become increasingly clear in recent years that the number of higher-dimensional systems continues to grow from hundreds to as many as a thousand different compounds. Part of the problem has to do with the somewhat opaque language that has developed over the past decades to describe higher-dimensional systems. This language, while well-suited to the specialist, is too sophisticated for the neophyte wishing to enter the field, and as such can be an impediment. This Focus Review hopes to address this issue. The goal of this article is to show the regular chemist or materials scientist that knowledge of regular 3D crystallography is all that is really necessary to understand 4D crystal systems. To this end, we have couched higher-dimensional composite structures in the language of ordinary 3D crystals. In particular, we developed the principle of complementarity, which allows one to identify correctly 4D space groups solely from examination of the two 3D components that make up a typical 4D composite structure.

Crystal Growth and Structure Determination of Oxygen-Deficient Sr6Co5O15

Large single crystals of oxygen-deficient Sr6Co5O(15-delta) compounds, i.e., Sr6Co5O14.70 and Sr6Co4.9Ni0.1O14.36, were obtained by using K2CO3 flux in the presence of additives of transition metal oxides. The single-crystal structure determination shows that the structures of Sr6Co5O14.70 and Sr6Co4.9Ni0.1O14.36 crystallize in the space group R and can be described as one-dimensional face-sharing CoO3 polyhedral chains and Sr cation chains. Unlike the other known 2H-perovskite-related oxides in which the polyhedral chains consist of octahedra (Oh) and trigonal prism (TP), the structure of Sr6Co5O14.70 and Sr6Co4.9Ni0.1O14.36 contain Oh and intermediate polyhedra (IP) and can be attributed to a general structure formula A6A'2B3O(15-delta), which is closely related to the known A6A'B4O15 phases by shifting of a B atom and the O3 triangle along the c axis. Further study on O3 reveals that this oxygen position splits into two independent positions, corresponding to polyhedral geometry of IP and TP, respectively. Therefore, the polyhedral chain in the structure should be more precisely described as a random composite of the 4Oh + TP and 3Oh + 2IP. This model is used to interpret the magnetic properties, although not quantitatively. The 4-D structure analysis was also conducted for both Sr6Co5O14.70 and Sr6Co4.9Ni0.1O14.36 with a commensurate modulated structure in a 4-D superspace group, R3m(00gamma)0s, gamma = p/k = 3/5. By considering the same 4-D superspace group R3m(00gamma)0s but different t-phases, one can understand the structure relationship between Sr6Co5O14.70 and Sr6Rh5O15.

Synthesis, Structure, and Magnetic Properties of Sr2NiOsO6and Ca2NiOsO6: Two New Osmium-Containing Double Perovskites

Two new double perovskite oxides, Ca(2)NiOsO(6) and Sr(2)NiOsO(6), have been prepared as polycrystalline powders by solid state synthesis. The two oxides were structurally characterized by variable-temperature powder neutron diffraction. Ca(2)NiOsO(6) was found to adopt a monoclinic structure (P2(1)/n), while Sr(2)NiOsO(6) was found to be tetragonal (I4/m). Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that Ca(2)NiOsO(6) orders in a canted antiferromagnetic state at about 175 K while Sr(2)NiOsO(6) orders antiferromagnetically at about 50 K.