Crystal Structure of Apatite Type Rare-Earth Silicate (Sr2RE2)(RE6)(SiO4)6O2 (RE=La, Pr, Tb, Tm, and Y)

Lii-Cherng Leu, Sherin Thomas, Mailadil Thomas Sebastian, Swavek Zdzieszynski, Rick Ubic

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The crystal structures of apatite-type (Sr 2 RE 2 )(RE 6 )(SiO 4 ) 6 O 2 (RE=La, Pr, Tb, Tm, and Y) ceramics prepared by conventional solid-state processing has been examined. The phase and structure analysis was carried out using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. Electron diffraction and Rietveld structure refinement of XRD data indicated that (Sr 2 RE 2 )(RE 6 )(SiO 4 ) 6 O 2 (RE=La, Pr, Tb, and Y) has a typical oxyapatite-type structure, A I 4 A II 6 (BO 4 ) 6 O 2 in space group P 6 3 / m (No. 176), where the A I site is shared equally and randomly by Sr and RE ions, A II is occupied by RE ions only, and B is occupied by Si. As the metaprism twist angle in this lanthanide series should increase as the size of RE decreases, the unrealistically low metaprsim twist angle for (Sr 2 Tm 2 )(Tm 6 )(SiO 4 ) 6 O 2 suggested that the hexagonal metric of apatite might not be sustained and the symmetry reduced to monoclinic, space group P 2 1 / m (No. 11), in order to compensate for the shorter Tm–O bond length. The P 2 1 / m model for (Sr 2 Tm 2 )(Tm 6 )(SiO 4 ) 6 O 2 also yields a better fit and improvement in bond valence as compared with P 6 3 / m model.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalJournal of the American Ceramic Society
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2011

EGS Disciplines

  • Materials Science and Engineering

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