0000000000377233
AUTHOR
Reinhard X. Fischer
Elucidating structural order and disorder phenomena in mullite-type Al4B2O9 by automated electron diffraction tomography
The crystal structure and disorder phenomena of Al4B2O9, an aluminum borate from the mullite-type family, were studied using automated diffraction tomography (ADT), a recently established method for collection and analysis of electron diffraction data. Al4B2O9, prepared by sol-gel approach, crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m. The ab initio structure determination based on three-dimensional electron diffraction data from single ordered crystals reveals that edge-connected AlO6 octahedra expanding along the b axis constitute the backbone. The ordered structure (A) was confirmed by TEM and HAADF-STEM images. Furthermore, disordered crystals with diffuse scattering along the b axis…
Crystal chemical characterization of mullite-type aluminum borate compounds
Abstract Al-rich aluminum borates were prepared by different synthesis routes using various Al/B ratios, characterized by diffraction methods, spectroscopy and prompt gamma activation analysis. The 11B NMR data show a small amount of BO4 species in all samples. The chemical analysis indicates a trend in the Al/B ratio instead of a fixed composition. Both methods indicate a solid solution Al5−xB1+xO9 where Al is substituted by B in the range of 1–3%. The structure of B-rich Al4B2O9 (C2/m, a=1488 pm, b=553 pm, c=1502 pm, s=90.6°), was re-investigated by electron diffraction methods, showing that structural details vary within a crystallite. In most of the domains the atoms are orderly distrib…