X-ray powder diffraction study of the stability of solid solutions in (La1−xGdx)OCl

The formation of the solid solutions in the (La1−xGdx)OCl series was studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) at room temperature in the 2θ region between 6.5 and 120°. The Rietveld profile refinement analyses of the XPD patterns were carried out with the background, unit cell, atomic position, isotropic temperature, and Gaussian profile form parameters refined freely. All (La1−xGdx)OCl samples possessed the tetragonal PbFCl-type structure with P4/nmm as the space group (Z=2). The unit cell parameters a and c evolve smoothly through the series and no clustering of the Gd3+ ions was observed according to Vegard's law. The solid solubility exists throughout the whole series. The valence bond…