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Crystal Structure of βGa2O3

S. Geller

Citation: J. Chem. Phys. 33, 676 (1960); doi: 10.1063/1.1731237


View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1731237
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TH}: JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS VOLUME 33, NUMBER" SEPTEMBER,1960

Crystal Structure of j3-Ga 20 3


S. GELLER
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Murray Hill, New Jersey
(Received March 23, 1960)

The crystal structure of !3-GazOs has been determined from urements, the {3 phase appears to be the structurally more stable
single-crystal three-dimensional x-ray diffraction data. The one.
monoclinic crystal has cell dimensions a= 12.23±0.02, b=3.04± The average Ga-O distances in the structure seem to account
0.01, c=5.80±0.01 A and !3= 103.7±0.3° as originally reported for the fact that although the Gas+ ion is substantially larger
by Kohn, Katz, and Broder [Am. Mineral. 42, 398 (1957) J. than the AI3+ ion its quantitative preference for tetrahedrally co-
There are 4 GazDa in the unit cell. The most probable space group ordinated sites when substituted for Fe3+ ion in the iron garnets
to which the crystal belongs is CZh3-C2/m; the atoms are in five is very nearly the same as that of the AP+ ion.
sets of special positions 4i: (000, UO) ± (xOz). There are two kinds The structure accounts for a recent result obtained by Peter
of coordination for Ga3+ ions in this structure, namely tetrahedral and Schawlow from paramagnetic-resonance measurements on
and octahedral. Average interionic distances are: tetrahedral Cr3+-ion-doped j3-Ga20s, namely that the Cr3+ ion substitutes for
Ga-O, 1.83 A; octahedral Ga-O, 2.00 Ai tetrahedron edge the Ga3+ ions in a single set of equivalent octahedral sites.
0-0,3.02 Ai and octahedron edge 0-0, 2.84 A. Because of the The magnetic aspects of the j3-GazOs structure are discussed and
reduced coordination of half of the metal ions, the density of it is shown that a possible FezOs isomorph could be expected to be
!3-GazOa is lower than that of a-GazOa which has the a-corundum at least antiferromagnetic with a Neel temperature of about 7000 K
structure. Also the closest approach of two Ga3+ ions in j3-GazO. Furthermore, a knowledge of the j3-Ga20s structure and of the
is 3.04 A which is considerably larger than the closest approach nature of site preferences of the Ga3+ and Fe3 + ions in the garnets
of metal ions in the sesquioxides with the a-corundum-type struc- lead to a prediction regarding the structure of the ferrimagnetic
ture and, in agreement with the results of thermodynamic meas- crystals of formula Gaz_x Fe,03 recently discovered by Remeika.

INTRODUCTION ions to prefer one set of octahedral sites to another and


because the Cr3+ ion shows an exclusive preference for
M UCH attention has recently been given the
sesqmoxides of the 3d elements particularly in
regard to their magnetic nature. Several of these have
octahedral coordination, (see, for example, footnote
references 5-7) it appeared reasonable to speculate that
the a-AhOa (a-corundum) structure. 1 Crystals of the Ga 3+ ions had two types of coordination in 13-
a-A120 a doped with small amounts of magnetic ions Ga 20a. If this speculation proved sound, we would have
are not only of scientific interest but have important the first clear-cut case in which a pure sesquioxide
application as MASER materials. Trivalent gallium contained octahedrally and tetrahedrally coordinated
with 3dtO configuration is nonmagnetic and therefore a metal ions in the same structure.
Ga203 crystal doped with a magnetic ion is also of With the present interest in the 3d transition-metal
scientific and possibly technological interest. oxides, it would seem worthwhile to determine the
In these Laboratories paramagnetic-resonance studies structures of any of those yet unknown. (Indeed there
by Peter and Schawlow2 on Cr3+-ion-doped j3-Ga20a now appears to be good reason to refine known structures
crystals prepared by Remeikaa indicated that the Cr3+ of these oxides to provide needed accuracy for theoreti-
ions had replaced Ga3+ ions in crystallographically cal considerations.) Such knowledge could be important
equivalent octahedral sites. If the Cr3+ ions had entered to our understanding of the crystal chemistry of the
crystallographically nonequivalent octahedral sites, ions involved. For example, the Fe3+ and Gaa+ ions with
this certainly would have been detected. On the other spherical electronic configurations 3d5 and 3dJO , re-
hand, it would not have been simple to detect tetra- spectively, have both octahedral and tetrahedral
hedrally coordinated Cr3+ ions. coordination in the garnets {Yal [Fe2] (Fea) OJ2 and
Since Kohn, Katz, and Broder had shown4 that the {Ya}[Ga2](Gaa)012 and in solid solutions of one of
unit cell of j3-Ga20a contained 8 Ga3+ ions, then, as will these in the other.s Both the Ga3+ and AP+ ions are
be shown in detail later, these ions must be in at least smaller than the Fe3+ ion, but the Ga3+ is substantially
two sets of crystallographically nonequivalent positions. larger than the A13+ ion. s Yet when these ions are sub-
Because there seemed little reason to expect the Cr3+ stituted for the Fe3+ ion in the garnets they show very
1 R. W. G. Wyckoff, Crystal Structures, Vol. II (Interscience
nearly the same quantitative preference for tetrahedral
Publishers Inc., New York). See also Z. Krist., Strukturbericht 1, sites. D•9 The present investigation appears to clarify
240 (1931); L. Pauling and S. B. Hendricks, J. Am. Chern. Soc. this observation.
47,781 (1925); W. H. Zachariasen, Z. Krist., Strukturbericht 2,
310 (1937). The structure of j3-Ga20a also accounts for its being
2 M. Peter and A. L. Schawlow, Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. Ser. II,
5,158 (1960). 6 M. A. Gilleo and S. Geller, Phys. Rev. 110, 73 (1958).
S J. P. Remeika, J. Appl. Phys. 31, 263S (1960) i See also Con- • S. Geller, J. App!. Phys. 31, 30S (1960).
ference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Detroit, Michigan, 7 S. Geller, C. E. Miller, and R. G. Treuting, Acta Cryst. 13,
~ovember, 1959, Paper No. S4. 179 (1960).
4 J. A. Kohn, G. Katz, and J. D. Broder, Am. Mineral. 42, 398 8 S. Geller, Acta Cryst. 10, 248 (1957).
(195i) . ~ S. Geller, J. Phys. Chern. Solids (to be published).
676

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CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF .8-Ga 2 0a 677

the thermodynamically stable room-temperature averaged with those taken with CuKa radiation when
phase,tO for its having a lower density than that of the observable with both radiations. (The small dispersion
a phase, and allows us to make a speculation regarding corrections for Ga would not have a significant effert.)
the structure of the recently discovered ferrimagnetic Because no really new information was obtainable
(and piezoelectric) Ga2_xFez03.3 from other than the zero and first layers, intensities
on these were the only ones quantitatively estimated.
DETERMINATION OF THE STRUCTURE Because absorption of both radiations by the crystal
The crystals used in this study were prepared by was high (JlCuKa=299 cm-I, JLMoKa=255 cm-I ), it was
J. P. Remeika. 3 Powdered specimens gave photographs necessary to use a small crystal (see above). Thus
in agreement with the patterns reported by Kohn maximum exposure times for the photographs taken
et al. 4 and by Foster and StumpflO for the /3-Ga20a. with MoKa radiations were 102, 90, 70, and 90 hr for
Most of the crystals photographed were twinned, some the zero through third layers, respectively. With CuKa
multiply, but after some searching one was found from radiation, the maximum exposure times were about 20
which a small single-crystal segment with long direction hr. Absorption corrections were applied assuming the
along the monoclinic b axis was cleaved. The cell con- crystal to be cylindrical with an average radius of 0.05
stantsH a= 12.23±0.02, b=3.04±0.01, c=5.80±0.01 A, mm. The absorption correction tables used were those
,8= 103.7±0.3° given by Kohn et al. 4 are quite ac- of Bondl2 and applied to the first layer in accordance
curate for our purposes as established by the com- with the formula given by Bond.l2 (see also footnote
plete indexing of the powder pattern taken with CuKa reference 13) . Lorentz-polarization-Tunell rotation-
radiation (see Appendix). The space group to which the factor corrections were also applied.l'l
crystal belongs was reported by Kohn et al. to be A Patterson projection on (010) clearly showed the
C 2h3, which is indeed the most probable one and with peaks resulting from Ga-Ga interactions, and it
which all our data are compatible. There are 4 Ga20a in appeared that all atoms must lie in the symmetry
the unit cell;4 the x-ray density is therefore 5.94 g/cm. planes, and occupy iive sets of positions 4i: (000,
The crystal photographed with the Weissenberg !to) ± (xOz). It was also clear that the contributions
camera and both CuKa and MoKa radiation had the from the Ga3+ ions would determine most of the phases.
dimensions: length 1.3 mm and cross section 0.09XO.ll It was necessary to consider the first-layer data for the
mm. The diffraction symmetry was C2h-2/m, with sys- purpose of distinguishing the most probable among
tematic absences, hkl, h+ k,e 2n. Thus the possible homomorphic (010) projections. A (010) Fourier
space groups are C2h LC2/m, C.LCm and C2LC2. The syntheSIS, a generalized Patterson projection using the
space group Cm would require two equivalent atoms hll data, a generalized Fourier projection with the
related by the symmetry plane to be at a maximum hIt data, and a pseudo-three-dimensional difference
distance from each other of 1.52 A thus indicating that synthesis aided in determining the oxygen-ion positions.
the crystal cannot possibly belong to this space group. The pseudo-three-dimensional synthesis was done as
The corresponding intensities on the even-numbered follows: The contributions of the Ga3+ ions were sub-
(Weissenberg) layers about the b axis were very similar tracted from the observed structure factors. These
as were those on the odd-numbered layers. Thus the had been scaled on the basis that, as indicated, the
structure appeared to be layered at one-half the b axis. contributions of oxygens were generally not large.
It was therefore unlikely that the heavy atoms would Thus some intuition entered into this scaling and as
be at combinations of positions such that the y coor- will be seen appeared to be quite sound. The remainders
dinates differed by other than multiples of tb, (al- assumed to be the oxygen contributions, but of course
though, of course very small deviations might occur). In containing numerous error contributions, were used in
such a case the positions of C2 with y=O or t become the synthesis. Each such amplitude, hOl, and hll was
special positions of C2/m. Negative tests for piezo- counted once in the synthesis. As expected, some
and pyroelectricity supported the conclusion that the spurious peaks occurred. Nevertheless, having obtained
most probable space group for the crystal is C2/m. fairly accurate positions of the Ga3+ ions, the results of
In C2/m, the general positions and positions e-h this synthesis together with structural considerations
would require two equivalent atoms related by the led to a determination of the oxygen trial parameters.
symmetry plane to be at 1.52 A from each other. Thus The trial parameters (for refinement) are given in
atoms could not be in any of these positions. Table I. It should be mentioned that the oxygen-ion
The intensities were estimated visually by compari- positions were expected to be quite inaccurate, the
son with a calibrated intensity scale and by cross com- idea being to save the author time by allowing the IBM
parison of intensities on various photographs. Intensi- 704 computer to do all of the refining.
ties of zero-level data taken with MoKa radiation were
12W. L. Bond, Acta Cryst. 12,375 (1960).
10 L. M. Foster and H. C. Stumpf, J. Am. Chern. Soc. 73, 1590 M. J. Buerger and N. Niizeki, Am. Mineral. 43, 726 (1958).
13
(1951), I am indebted to Dr. R. G. Treuting for programing the cal-
14
11 Our designation of the axes is in keeping with the convention culation of the corrected relative squared structure amplitudes
c < a for the monoclinic cell. and relative structure amplitudes on the IBM 704 computer.

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678 S. GELLER

TABLE I. Trial parameters. for the hOI reflections is 0.143 and for the hll, 0.130.
The comparison of calculated and observed structure
Atom Coordinates B,A2
amplitudes is given in Table III.
x z
INTERATOMIC DISTANCES AND ANGLES
Gal 0.087 -0.204 0.2
Gall 0.341 -0.312 0.2 The estimated standard deviations of the positions
01 0.153 0.092 0.8 of the atoms are 0.004, 0.004, 0.033, 0.028, and 0.028 A
011 0.492 0.248 0.8 for Ga(I), Ga(II), 0(1), 0(11), and 0(111), respec-
0111 0.829 0.443 0.8
tively. These standard deviations of position should be
considered as radii of circles in the mirror planes.
REFINEMENT OF THE STRUCTURE Standard deviations in bond lengths were computed
Refinement of the structure was carried out with the taking into consideration the angle made between the
Busing-Levyl5 least-squares program for the IBM 704 bond direction and the symmetry planes. The inter-
computer. Only hOl and hll amplitudes were used. In atomic distances and their standard deviations are given
the first refinement cycles 824 data were included. All in Table IV.
observed amplitudes were weighted unity; all unob- The important angles are given in Table V. Individual
served amplitudes included at one-half threshold value standard deviations were not calculated for these, but
were weighted 0.01. Two scale factors corresponding to an estimate of the standard deviation of an Q-Ga-O
the two k values (zero and first layers about b) of the angle is 1.3° and of a Ga-O-Ga angle, 0.9°.
data were refined. Both of these were started at 1.000
and are the scale factors mentioned earlier. Atomic DESCRIPTION OF THE STRUCTURE
scat cering factors used for the structure amplitude The arrangement of the ions in the ,B-Ga203 structure
calculations were those of Thomas and Umeda I6 for is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The oxygen ions are arranged
Ga3+ and for 0 2- those given by Berghuis et al. 17 for 0 in a "distorted cubic" close-packed array. There are
arbitrarily modified such that 10 2-= 10 at sin8/A= 0 two crystallographically nonequivalent gallium and
and 10 2-=10 at sin8/A;:::0.20. three nonequivalent oxygen ions in the unit cell. Each
Convergence was attained within three cycles: in the Ga1 3+ ion is surrounded by a distorted tetrahedron of
final cycle, the largest change in any coordinate was oxygen ions: one 0 12- at 1.80 A, two On 2- ions at 1.83
0.003 A by On in the a direction. The weighted R A, and one Om 2- ion at 1.85 A (average 1.83 A).
factor was 0.171 for the data calculated on the basis of Each Gau3+ ion is surrounded by a highly distorted
the parameters of the second cycle. The final scale octahedron of oxygen ions: two 0 12- at 1.95 A, one
factors were 0.988 and 0.997 with (T'S of 0.010, meaning On 2- ion at 1.95 A, one Om 2- ion at 2.02 A, and two
that these are not significantly different from 1.000. Om 2- ions at 2.08 A (average 2.00 A). A tetrahedron
Examination of the calculated and observed data shares only corners with other tetrahedra in the b-axis
indicated some large discrepancies in the high-angle direction and with octahedra in other directions. An
data taken with the MoKa radiation. These data had octahedron shares edges with adjacent octahedra in the
been taken with Kodak type KK film, which un- b axis direction and in roughly the [102J direction:
fortunately has rather large grain size. Small weak the shared edges are, respectively, Ol-Om and Om-
spots are difficult to see in this case; the difficulty is Om, each of length 2.67 (Table IV). The distance 2.67
more pronounced when the aI, a2 doublet is resolved. A is the shortest 0-0 distance in the structure. This is
Because the data were plentiful, it was decided to omit
a large portion of the high-angle reflections. The total TABLE II. Final parameters.
data were therefore reduced from 824 to 522. Two
least-squares cycles were run. The largest difference in Scale factors Standard deviations
coordinates between the results so obtained and those
obtained previously was 0.005 A for atom Om in the a 1 0.984 0.013
direction. The final parameters with their standard 2 0.988 0.014
deviations are given in Table II.
The weighted R factor calculated by the Busing-
Atom Coordinates B, A2 u(x) u(z) u(B)
Levy program was 0.166. However, if unobserved
reflections are excluded; the R factor x z

Gal o.0904 -0.2052 0.33 0.0002 0.0005 0.05


15 W. R. Busing and H. A. Levy, ORNL Central Files Memo- Gall 0.3414 -0.3143 0.28 0.0002 0.0005 0.05
randum 59-4-37 (April, 1959). 0.1674 0.1011
16 L. H. Thomas and K. Umeda, J. Chern. Phys. 26, 293 (1957).
01 0.76 0.0019 0.0041 0.32
17 J. Berghuis, I. J. M. Haanappel, M. Potters, B. O. Loopstra: On 0.4957 0.2553 0.43 0.0016 0.0034 0.25
C. H. MacGillavry, and A. L. Veenendaal, Acta Cryst. 8, 478 0 111 0.8279 0.4365 0.46 0.0015 0.0034 0.25
(1955) .

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TABLE III. Calculated and observed amplitudes.

!=ll
~ ~ h.4 ~ h28 .'!:!.!Q ~ !!:.!..'!..!:::.l! !!::..l.! haZO ~ ~ ~ ~
-L ~ £!..1£.:. ~ £!..1£.:. ~ ~ ~ £!..1£.:. ~ Cale. ~ £!..1£.:. ~ ~ ~ £!..1£.:. ~ £!..1£.:. ~C.le. ~f.!..l.£..:. Q!!!..,. eft Ie. ~~ ~~ ~Calc.
o 440 < 9 -1 93 -126 57 53 23 -26 <13 I 125 116 <19 2 84 -17 <20 9 19 24 <19 I 33 2'8 <20 2 35 -34
i 22 -18 47 33 97 -141 67 -66 112 145 30 36 82 -66 <14 -5 22 -23 25 -23 53 55 20 20 43 46 18 -11
~ 117 -151 107 -123 45 45 48 46 <12 -2 <13 10 71 -62 83 -69 57 50 45 45 <19 29 <19 -11 <19 -9 30 -26
3' <10 6 27 -27 16 62 122 I" 69 -58 109 -93 38 31 42 34 "17 8 40 33 <19 -18 51 -49 <19 20 49 3t'
1r 24 30 136 178 17 -23 16 64 35 28 46 -39 15 15 100 100 <17 -13 48 -61 <19 14 <18 12 <19 3 24 31
! <13 -2 17 8 19 20 144 -109 26 -27 136 \07 <13 4 50 -112 <14 5 41 -35 <19 -15 51 55 <19 S 41 -39
"6 23 28 107 -96 57 -49 52 40 <15 10 <13 13 19 16 78 -61 40 -42 49 47 <19 22 <19 -20 <19 -20
'i 16 -21 <12 -6 14 -23 63 52 63 59 65 -47 46 -46 <18 21 <18 14 <19 14 <19 27 <19 -22
11 61 -64 26 34 81 81 <17 -21 17 -21 <18 7 40 -34 24 22 66 64 <18 -18 29 36 <19 II
'9 41 42 <18 _7 25 17 <18 5 76 -72 <19 -3 74 63 <18 -9 <19 -18 <19 5 27 -34 <18 -4
(j
10 43 44 <19 12 54 -59 <19 -16 <19 22 <19 -2 22 17 <19 11 47 -In <19 .20
TT <19 -23 <19 -2 < 19 -II <19 -15 43 40 22 29 33 -32 <18 -19 <19 12 <18 3 :;0
~ 24 -15 30 -36 30 29 30 36 <19 -14 <19 -2 <18 -4 ><:
I 53 30 145 145 70 -49 125 -130 34 31 61 51 <10 o 24 28 <18 -11 55 -53 <19 14 42 42 r:J'l
2 43 38 88 75 19 -18 <13 -2 4S -41 83 -75 33 36 62 59 30 -29 22 -22 <19 -I < 16 -23
l-l
3 82 -12 72 -65 108 105 73 62 79 -s4 22 -21 <17 -2 <18 -21 38 39 25 31 38 -41
4 113 -104 <20 16 <19 4 <16 -6 88 64 17 18 74 -69 <19 -3 38 30 <19 3 <18 18 >
5 99 86 17 -18 123 -103 22 15 49 50 <18 -3 <19 15 <19 -3 43 -44 <19 5 39 39 r
6 72 61 14 -17 < 7 -7 30 -17 64 -56 <19 17 48 54 <19 -20 22 -27 <18 3
7 44 -42 57 52 35 58 30 -42 22 -28 <19 10 <19 -13 <19 19 23 31 r:J'l
8 <18 -7 <18 17 <18 -6 38 43 <19 23 39 _117 <19 -13 23 29 l-l
9 <19 -13 64 -66 <19 1 39 39 <19 0 <19 3 <18 1 :;0
10 <19 -10 < 19 -\1 <19 -5 38 -34 <19 4 39 40
d
II <19 21 42 43 <19 -22 29 -27
(")
12 <18 18 <17 -I
l-l
d
~ :;0
!!=.l ~ ~ l!!1 ~ .!!!:l.l ~ h:..l1 .'!.:.!.! .'l:.!2. ~ ~ ~ t<:I
..!.. ~£!..1£.:. ~~ ~~ ~~~~~£!..1£.:.~f.!..l.£..:.~£!..1£.:. ~f.!..l.£..:. ~f.!..l.£..:. Q!!!..,.Cale, Q!!!..,.Cale. Ob •• C.le.
o 21 17 110 -101 132 -112 51 53 56 61 21 -27 <20 -9 28 -21 45 -45 30 28 46 41 22 -26
o
T 135 -136 29 33 23 24 25 20 69 69 18 -31 79 -79 <21 25 45 45 <23 -4 <23 <22-4 "'l
l" 63 55 88 -88 14 14 161 IHI <15 -11 95 -66 <18 21 <20 I <21 4 59 61 <23 -3 57 51 <23 6 "ti;)
':!' 55 -46 143 145 14 14 42 -40 16 13 67 -69 19 -30 96 87 <21 16 55 -52 <23 -4 <23 -7 <23 -11
1j <15 1 35 41 26 27 96 -96 72 -71 43 56 22 3Z <20 -16 <21 3 22 -32 33 -37 33 36 <23 28 C)
"5 71 87 58 -59 65 -61 17 17 <18 3 22 31 46 54 24 -36 40 -56 <23 25 30 30 <23 -I <22 13 I>'
i <18 -12 <18 10 63 -64 24 28 121 105 <20 -22 55 -49 22 15 <22 -II <23 10 38 51 <23 -11 45 -39
o
'1 79 -94 <20 -11 68 79 <20 -6 <20 -" <21 9 56 -62 <22 -11 59 57 <23 -2 38 -34 <23 3 <21 -15
ii <21 10 <21 _7 27 36 <21 19 68 -69 25 -32 26 40 <23 <23 -3 <23 8 32 -34 <22 -23 41 34
9 71 53 45 41 50 -39 <22 -22 <22 5 <23 -5 30 31 <23 33 <23 -31 <22 20 <21 14
TO <23 -11 <23 6 <23 -6 46 -41 33 29 70 55 <23 -19 <23 -20 <23 6 <22 -13
TT <23. -2 73 -57 <23 :3 52 40 <23 -9 <23 3 <23 2 55 -45 <22 117 42
12 <22 -6 <22 2 <22 -6 29 28 <22 8 54 ~5 <22 -11
1 209 162 79 61 80 -62 <14 -2 51 -41 38 -41 78 80 36 38 58 -57 <23 -16 <23 5 <23 -11 22 24
2 64 -57 14 -11 180 1711 18 14 97 -98 <18 12 <20 18 <21 -I 59 52 <23 6 57 -50 <23 -I
3 138 -143 31 30 40 35 <16 2 53 57 19 -16 80 -79 <22 15 "7 49 <23 -3 <23 o <22 -I
4 15 20 47 -53 95 -96 31 35 58 67 20 -25 <21 -19 <22 -8 46 -39 <23 15 45 43
5 58 66 38 -47 <18 -17 <19 -13 29 -33 38 49 36 46 37 -45 <23 -26 <23 14 <22 -6
6 <19 -16 95 93 20 29 77 -74 <22 -5 26 26 <23 o 23 31 <23 lit
<20 10 27 35 <21 -4 22 31 <23 -3 42 -58 <23 3 30 42 <22 0
8 <23 -20 40 -63 <22 15 42 53 <23 -16 <23 -22 <23 -2
9 <23 -28 <23 -22 <23 3 <23 -19 <23 22 23 40
10 42 43 30 29 50 -4" <23 -15 <23 25
11 38 28 <23 -2 <22 12 <22 2
0-
-.:r
\0

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6g0 S. GELLER

TABLE IV. Interatomic distances and standard deviations.

Atom pair (No.) Distance, A cr, A Atom pair (No.) Distance, A cr,A

GaIO, tetrahedron Ga-Ol 1.80 0.03 GanOe octahedron Ga-OI(2) 1.95 0.03
Ga-On(2) 1.83 0.01 Ga-On 1.95 0.03
Ga-Om 1.85 0.03 Ga-Om 2.02 0.03
0I-On(2) 2.93 0.04 Ga-Om(2) 2.08 0.02
Ol-Om 3.13 0.04 0 1-01 3.04 0.01
Ou-Ou 3.04 0.01 01-On(2) 2.90 0.04
On-Om (2) 3.02 0.03 01-Om(2) 2.85 0.04
01-Om(2) 2.67 0.04
On-Om (2) 2.89 0.03
Om-Om(2) 2.67 0.04
Om-Om 3.04 0.01

Shortest Ga-Ga Gal-Gal (2) 3.04 0.01 Averages Gal-O 1.83


distances Gau-Gan(2) 3.04 0.01 Gau-O 2.00
Gau-Gau(2) 3.11 0.01 O-O,octa- 2.84
Gal-Gan 3.28 0.01 hedron
Gal-Gan(2) 3.30 om o~, tetra- 3.02
Gal-Gan(2) 3.33 0.01 hedroll
Gal-Gau(2) 3.45 0.01
-- -
-------~----------.---
--.-~------~------
...

TABLE V. Bond angles.

Within a tetrahedron (involve only Gal) Within an octahedron (involve only Gau)
201-Ga-0 1 107.6° Ol-Ga-OI 102.7°
Ol-Ga-Ol 117.8 201-Ga-On 96.1
On-Ga-On 112.0 2 Ol-Ga-Om 91.9
2 Ou-Ga -01Il 110.2 2 Ol-Ga-Om 83.1
2 Ou-Ga-Om 91.5
Om-Ga -Om 94.1
2 Om-Ga -Om 81.4
Gal-O-Gall (tetrahedral-octahedral) Gal-O-Gal (tetrahedral-tetrahedral)
angles angles
2 Ga-Ol-Ga 123.3° (2 different Gall'S) 2 Ga-On-Ga 112.0° (2 different Oll'S)
2 Ga-On-Ga 123.0 (2 different On's)
2 Ga-Om-Ga 122.3 (2 different Gau's)
Ga-Om-Ga" 115.4
Gau-O-Ga (octahedral-octahedral) angles

2 Ga-Om-Ga 98.4° (2 different Gar's)


2 Ga-Om-Ga 98.4 (2 different Om's)
Ga-Or-Ga 102.7
Ga-Om-Ga 94.1

• Gal and Gall in same plane.

in agreement with the observation l8 that in ionic struc- . being occupied by an 0 12- and an Om 2- ion each
tures, the mutual repulsion of the positive ions tends to lying in the mirror plane containing the Gay 3-t- ion within
reduce the length of shared edges of anion polyhedra. the tetrahedron.
Because of the short b axis, there are two 0 12- and Thus each 0 12- ion is at the corner of two octahedra
2
two Om - ions (along the b axis) at corners of an octa- and one tetrahedron; each Ou2- ion is at the corner of
hedron. The structure cannot possibly then have two one octahedron and two tetrahedra; and each Om 2-
OII2~ ions at the remaining corners of the octahedron, ion is at the corner of three octahedra and one tetra-
since these must lie in the mirror plane containing the hedron. If the octahedra and tetrahedra were regular,
Gan 3-t- ion within the octahedron. Thus there is only it would be doubtful that such a structure could exist,
one On 2- ion at a corner of the octahedron, the remain- because the sums of the bond numbers of the bonds at
ing comer being occupied by a third Om2- ion. all oxygen ions would not be 2 (see footnote reference
At the comers of the tetrahedron, there are two 18). They would be: at 012- , H, at Ou2- , 2; and at
On2- ions which are along the b axis, the other corners Om 2-, 2t. However, the polyhedra are probably not
18 L. Pauling, Nature of Ihe Chemical Bond (Cornell University
regular. In fact, the four bonds to Om2- are the longest
Press, Ithaca, New York, 1960), 3rd ed., Chap. 13. Sec. 6. ones: Gal-Om = 1.85 A, Gan-Om=2.08(2) and 2.02

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CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF {j-Ga 2 0" 681

A, whereas those to 0 12- are the shortest ones: GaI-OI=


1.80 A and Gan-OI= 1.95 A(2). The Gal-On distance
1.83 A is equal to the average GaI-O distance, but the
Gan-On distance, 1.95 A, is 0.05 A shorter than the
average Gau-O distance. Thus the sum of the bond
numbers of the bonds to an On 2- ion is somewhat
greater than two, but not importantly so (see footnote
reference 20).
Actually, the statistical calculation tells us that:
there are no significant differences in GaI-O distances,
nor in the Gan-OI and Gan-On distances, nor in the
two Gan-Om distances. The shorter Gall-Om distance
is only possibly significantly different from the Gan-
0 1 and Gan-On distances. However the long Gan-Om
distance is significantly largerthan the shortest distances.
Unfortunately, the oxygen ions contribute little to the FIG. 2. Plan view of the p-Ga,Oa structure. Lines connecting
intensities in comparison with gallium ions and it is atoms indicate the manner in which the octahedra and tetrahedra
are constructed from and joined by the oxygen atoms in the three
unlikely that much greater reliability can be attained consecutive symmetry planes. Only the upper faces of the poly-
even from more accurate intensity data. Also it would hedra are depicted. For increased clarity, this figure should be
studied simultaneously with Fig. J.
appear to be quite difficult to obtain crystals of the
aluminum isomorph designated as I1-AbOl9 ,20; none
have as yet been reported. which brings the metal ions very near each other.
Nevertheless, the aforementioned criterion defined Accurate atomic positional parameters for a-Ga2 0a
by Pauling 18 indicates that the oxygen polyhedra have not been determined. However, in Fe20a,1 the
must be irregular and therefore that the calculated closest approach of two Fe H ions through a shared
distances are perhaps better than indicated by the octahedral face is 2.88 A and through a shared edge
standard deviations. 2.96 A.21 In !3-Ga20a no faces are shared between poly-
hedra and the shortest GaH-Ga H distance is 3.04 A.
DISCUSSION Now it is recognized that usually structures in which
faces of polyhedra are shared are less stable than those
1. Comparison with a-Corundum Structure in which edges are shared, which in turn are less stable
The !3-Ga20a structure (Figs. 1 and 2) appears to be than structures in which only corners are shared. IS
quite different from that of a-Ga20a which has the a- Thus, one would expect the 13 phase to be more stable
corundum structure. The latter has the oxygen ions in than the a phase. Foster and Stumpf have shown lO
approximately hexagonal close-packed array with all that although the a-Ga20a forms at lower temperatures
the Ga 3+ ions octahedrally coordinated to 0 2- ions. than does !3-Ga203, the a phase is metastable. In the
Also in the a phase, octahedra share edges and faces case of alumina, it appears that the a phase forms at
higher temperatures than the 11 (isostructural with 13-
Ga203) just the reverse of the gallia. Yet it appears that
although seen rarely in comparison with the a phase,
the I1-AJ zOa is the thermodynamically stable phase at
room temperature 19 and that although a-AIzOa is
thermodynamically metastable at room temperature
the a~11 transition of AbOa is "infinitely" sluggish
at such temperature.
As one might expect, the lower average coordination
in the !3-Ga20a is accompanied by a lower density; the
volumes per Ga20a in the a and 13 phases are 47.8 and
52.8 Aa, respectively.
FIG. 1. Perspective view of the arrangement of the oxygen
octahedra and tetrahedra in {J-Ga20a. 21 Recent accurate work on Ti,Oa and V20 a by Nordmark 22 has
led to the Me-Me distances: 2.55 and 2.64 A, respectively, across
19 H. C. Stumpf, A. S. Russell, ]. W. Newsome, and C. M. the shared face and 2.99 and 2.88 A, respectively, across the
Tucker, Ind. Eng. Chern. 42, 1398 (1950). shared edge. In any case, the closest approach of Ga3+ ions in
20 The lattice constants of this phase derived by the present {J-Ga,Oa is Jubstantially greater than that of the metal ions in
author from the powder data given by Stumpf et at.1S are a= any of the <> phases.
1l.83±0.02, b=2.92±0.01, c=5.64±0.01 A, and {J= 104.0±0.5°. 22 C. Nordmark, in Final Technical Report, "Studies on the
The powder data, however, are not completely correct, the most crystal chemistry of titanium, vanadium and molybdenum
outstanding discrepancy being that of d ool which should be 5.47 oxides at elevated temperatures" by A. Magneli et at., University
A as against the reported 5.25 A. Also it is possible that some of Stockholm (October, 1959), p. 16. See also R. E. Newnham and
observable lines have been omitted; one of these is the [401] Y. M. de Haan, American Crystallographic Association Meeting.
reflection. Washington, D. C., January, 1960, Paper No. D-5.

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682 S. GELLER

TABLE VI. Analogous average distances and ranges in i3-Ga203 and in yttrium-iron garnet.

i3-Ga20 3 YIG"
Metal-oxygen distances Averages Range Averages Range

Octahedral 2.00 A 1.95-2.08 A 2.00 A All equal


Tetrahedral 1.83 1.80-1.85 1.88 All equal

0-0 distances

In octahedron 2.84 2.67-2.90 2.84 2.68-2.99 A


In tetrahedron 3.02 2.93-3.13 3.06 2.87-3.16

" S. Geller and M. A. Gillco, J. Phys. Chern. Solids 3, 30 (1957); 9, 235 (1959).

2. Possibility of Disorder distance in [J-Ga203 is substantially smaller than the


tetrahedral Fe-O distance in the garnet. The average
That the structure is ordered appears to be estab- 0-0 distances of the octahedra in the two structures
lished by the paramagnetic-resonance work by Peter
are equal but the average 0-0 distance in the Ga04
and Schawlow2 on CrH-ion-doped .8-Ga20S, in which it
tetrahedron in [J-Ga203 is shorter than the average
is found that the Cr H ions prefer only one set of octa-
0-0 distance in the Fe04 tetrahedron of the garnet.
hedral sites. It is likely that these ions replace the
Now from the least-squares calculations, the afore-
Gan H ions in octahedrally coordinated sites: There
mentioned differences are not significant. However, on
is not enough space for foreign ions in the remaining a crystal chemical basis, there is reason to believe that
octahedrally coordinated holes. Thus it is improbable the differences are meaningful.
that there is the type of disorder which would allow We have shown previously5 that when the Ga H ion is
drastic change in the environment of any of the Gar 3+ substituted for the Fe3+ ion in the garnets, it shows a
and Gan 3+ ions. great preference for the tetrahedral [CN (4)] site. Also
3. Importance of [J-Ga 203 Structure Relative to there is indication that when Fe3+ is substituted for the
Substitution of Ga3+ and AP+ for Fe3+ Ions in GaH ion in yttrium-gallium garnet, it greatly prefers
Yttrium-Iron Gamet the octahedral [CN(6)] site. 26 We have also mentioned
elsewhere that the ratios of effective size of ions in
The Ga3+ and Fe H ions have very similar crystal different coordinations may differ and probably depend
chemistry. Both ions have spherical electronic configura- largely on the nuclear charge and external electronic
tion and are of very nearly the same size, the Ga H configuration of the atom. 23 ,24 The ratios of tetrahedral
ion being somewhat smaller than Fe H ion in most to octahedral Fe-O distances in yttrium-iron garnet
structures. The relative radii derived from the perov- is 0.94; in Y3AbAh01227 the analogous AI-O ratio is
skitelike compounds 8 put the GaH ion CN(6) radius 0.91, in .8-Ga203 the ratio of tetrahedral to octahedral
at 0.015 A less than that of the Fe H ion. This does not average Ga-O distances is 0.91, in fact very similar to
mean that average metal-oxygen distances will be that of the Al-O distances in the aluminum garnet.
exactly the same in different structures. For example, Now despite the fact that the AP+ ion is much smaller
the relative ionic radii derived from the perovskitelike than the GaH ion, the quantitative site preference in
compounds are applicable to the garnets,5,23,24 but the the substituted iron garnets of the latter is very close to
CN(6) metal-oxygen distances in the garnets are that of the former 5,9: this is in agreement with the
uniformly somewhat larger than the sums of these above considerations.
radii.
Although the structure of yttrium-gallium garnet, 4. Magnetic Aspects
{Y3}[Ga2](GaS)012 has not yet been refined, that of
If an Fe20a phase isostructural with .8-Ga20a were
yttrium-iron garnet has 25 ; it is of interest to compare
found, it should be antiferromagnetic, because the
some analogous distances in this garnet structure with
Gal-O-Gall angles of about 123 0 (Table V) are (and
those of .8-Ga203. The averages and ranges of these
presumably the Fer-O-Fen angles would be) favorable
analogous distances are compared in Table VI. It is to superexchange interaction9 ,25,28,29 and the network of
seen that the average Gan-O distance in .8-Ga20S
octahedra and tetrahedra involving these favorable
is the same as the octahedral Fe-O distance in yttrium-
angles continues throughout the structure. 29 Counting
iron garnet. On the other hand, the average Gar-O
the possible significant magnetic interactions we find
23 S. Geller, R. M. Bozorth, M. A. Gilleo, and C. E. Miller, J.
Phys. Chern. Solids 12, 111 (1960). 26 S. Geschwind, Phys. Rev. Letters 3, 207 (1959).
24 S. Geller and D. W. Mitchell, Acta Cryst. 12,936 (1959). 27 E. Prince, Acta Cryst. 10, 787 (1957).
25 S. Geller and M. A. GiIIeo, J. Phys. Chern. Solids 3, 30 28 M. A. GiIleo, Phys. Rev. 109, 777 (1958).
(1957); 9, 235 (1959). 29 M. A. GiIIeo, J. Phys. Chern. Solids (to be published).

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CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF i3-Ga 2 0a 683

TABLE VII. i3-Ga 20a powder data (CuKa radiation).

h",
~ hOI
~ ~ ~
de Ie de Ie 1:1.
200 5.942 0.0 222 1.275 0.982 0.1 0.845 \:4 14
001 5.635 5.62 1.6 QW 2211 0.980 0,1 0.B45 0.0 •
1.275 0.0
20t '.679 1i.61 3.8 3.8 w
~:~
11. 1.243 0.1 331 0.977 0.976 0.5 1.8 10,2,2 0.843 WI
101 3.677 3,66 2.0 2.0 QW
5111 1.243 o.? 0.4 12 ,O,! 0.977 1.3 12,2,l' 0.8~2
0.843 1.7
400
~:m
21.7
110 2.95 1.1 22.8 vs 911 1.241 0.1 315 0.969 0.6 0,6 ~06 _ 0.840
10,0,6 0.840
IIOi
002
2.930
2.817
2.92
2.81
26.1
27.5
26.1
45.5
vS
vvs
603
10,0,T
1.226
1.223
1.223 1.9
0.2
2.1
• 11.L',1
206
0.965
0.964 0.964
0.5
1.3 2.1 w 0.837
0.835 0.835
&1-5,
20'11 18.0 513 1.217 0.4 1.2 406' 0.963 0.3 Br.
621 1.215 0.8 0.B35
111 2675 2.66 12.7 12.7 W-/A 331 0.958 ·'P. 4 0.5
712 1.212 0.1 13:! 0.951 0.1 2. I 2.' 'R,8~.
111 2.549 2.536 50.2 50.2 VVS 911' 1.212 1.209 0.0 1.0
vvw, 0.5
623 _ 0.954
310 2.412 0.2 02 910 1.211 0.9
Or.
10,2,1 0.953 0.952 ~:~ 2.3 w 2.3
401 2.403 2,390 17,7 11.7 "-S 620
802 _
1.206
1.202
0.2
0.0 0.2
132 0.944 ~:~ 3.1
311 2.343 29.1 10,0,2 1.201 332 0.944 0._
2.340 2.332 1.1 31.8 0.0
20!
~02 2 340 I 6 22! 1,193 0.2 0.2
822 _ 0.943 0.0 0.0 ~O¥ 0,828 .Q,I 0,1

112 ~.~~:
31l
2.100 :.~ 8.2 W-/A
10,0,0
023
1.188
1.182
0.0
0.0 0.0
10,2,2
OO!
0.943
0,939
0.0
0,1
O.a
0.823 g.,
0.0 0.1

601 2.024 2.014 2.4 2.4 W 422


622
I. 111
1.111
1.0
WI,
~~O, 1
10,2,0
g:m
0.936
0.937 g:~
0.0
1.8 w 12,2,l
11,1,3
o.e22
0.821
0.4
0.1 0,'
600 1.980 1.5 1.168 0.4 1.6
112 1.919 1.971 3.4 13. I 404 1.110 0.1 8r. 10, a,! 0.936 1.2 715 0.819 O. I 0, I
312 1.978 8.2 8011 1.170 0.1
531 0.934 0.10.1 10,0,40.818 O.alll 1.9 1.9 •
423 1.159

iti ~~iil !~~ :~f'11 ~:::: ~:: w~:


203 1.927 .3 0.3 0.6 0.6
511 1.885 1.1
2o! 1.159 0.0
003 l. 818 0.0 1.1 405 1. 14B 0.1
0.929 2.9 W,or. ::::: :::
510 1.872 1.865 4.8 4.8
314
7111
1.147
1. ~6 1.146 ~:~ 4.2 w_" ~1.!.Jl,c!IL,I1=-0"".""9,,-29,-_ _~0.,,,,9,--___ 42li 0.814 1.0
402
602
"oJ
1.838
1 838
1.791
I.B31

1.788
2.5
o9
1.6
3.4
1.6 vw
621

911
1.146
1. 136
1.134
0.4
0.0 0.0 :;*
225
~::;;
0.921
~:~
0.0
0.1 ~~~
93T
g:m
0.,012
o.a
0.3
0.,1
0,6
601 1,744 1.0 1.0 vvw 10,0,~ 1 • 132 0.61.9

312 1,714
'.736
0.0
0.1 223
1.132
1.121
1.3
0.9 0.9
~6!
12 O.1;
g:m
0.919
g:g
0.0
0.0 111.,0,1
80s
0.811
0.810
o.~
51% 1 714 0.1 005 1.121 0.0 i 533 0.806 0.6
"1 1.685 2.8 10,0, I 1,111 0.1 0,1 425 0.916 0.1 g,1
1.677 4.7 w-" 001 0.80s 0,2
203
11!J
1.680
1.628 1.622
1.9
1.4 1.4 vw
605
623
1.098
1.089
1.098
1.086
1.1
2.2
1.1
2.2

vvw
10 0.3
~2
2
0.911
g::::
0.6
0.0
732
932
o.oO~
0.804
0.1
0.0 ·0,7
31! 1.598 1.595 13.2 13.2 "-5 315 1.083 1.0 1.0 111; 0.910 0.910 0.0 3.B
0.0 I.Sr. 939 0.804 o,e
6o!J
113
1.560
1.543
1.559
1.539
3.7
1'.B
3.7
11.8
• 1.071 1.07'5 3.6 5,7 VI-U,
8r.
516 _
10,2,3
0.910
0.908
1,3
1.9
0.801
0 .. 800
o,r
0.2 0.'
1.074 2.1
531 0.906 0.5 0.800 0,1
80T 1.528
1.525 5.9 16.4 • "-S, 820 1.062 0.0 025 0.905 0.0
020 1.520 10.5 Br. 205 1.062 1.061 1.0 1.0 vw 626 0.~9

711 1.512 0.2 0.2 713 1.062 0.0 0.3 12,2,1 0.798 0.198 u
0.2 10,2,5 0.191
0.2 515 1.057 1.0
3.3 3.5 w-" 622 1.055 0.1 1.1 0.3
0.1
50'7 0.795 '0.196
822 1.055 0.0 0.895 1.8 VVVI.
~:~:~ !:~
220 0.0 0.6 B01 u
803 1,050 0.2 Br. 117 0.189 9.8
51! 0.1 1.04B 0.' 5.6
021 0.0 0.2 2211 1.049 5.1 0.0 13,l,g 0.781 0.3
602 0.1 0.1
80~ 0.0 423
11.1.1
1.046
1.043 1.043
0.7
1.3
0.7
1,3 vvw
605
333'
0.893
0.B92 0.892
I.B
2.8 7.3 M,8r.
~~1,2 g:m 0,0 0,'
0.0
2011 1.450 1.449 1.9 7,9
1.446 604 1.038 0.0 625 0.890 2.7 12,2,~ 0.786 0.2 0.2
0.2 0.2 Z.9
10,0,11 1,037 0.2 0.2 133 0.882 334 0.784 1.6
403 1.441 1,0 116 0.880 0.880 0.1 3.3 w 7311 _
1.037 2.5 0.7B4 0.7B4 5.1 13.3 M-S
512 1.440 1.436 14.9 31.9 vs 71. 0.880 0.3
15,1,1 0.784 6.6
71:! 1.440 16.0 1,036 1.3 0.1
1.03h 2.7 73T 0.876 0.2
1.409 0.2 13, I ,0 0,875 0.1 SIB _ 0.783 0.9
1.034 1.033 2.1 10.0 "-5, t
1.409
1.405
0.1
0.1
0.4 1.033 0.1 Or. 13, I,! 0.873 0.3 0.3 11,1,6
13,1,'5' g:~~ 0.782
0.5
3.3 8.4 W,er.
1.033 0.1 1.0 10,2,3 0.782 3.7
)13 1,389 0.4 0.4 1.033 1.2 0.8
0.B10 1.9 4.7 93! 0.781 0.1
711 1.366 0.0 0.0 805 1.022 0.1 0.'
801 1.359 3.5 11,1,0 1.018 1.015 0,5 '. I vw
0.0
1.0
931
606
0.780
0.780 J:~ 1.6
420 1.353 1.355 1.7 9.2 M.8r. 12,0,T 1.011 0.6 12,0,! 0.780 0.1
421 1.349 4.0 53'! 0.868 0.0 0.0
022 1.338 1.336
~.4 5.6 W-M
821
10,0,2
1.013
1.012
2.'
0.2 823 0.864 1.0 1.0 117 0.778 0.1 0.1
22:! 1.338 3.1 1.011 3.6
12.0,2 1.012 0.5 532 0.861 4.7 9.B "-5,
803 1.328 0.7 0.7 130 1.010 0.0 0.861 15,1,3 0.775 0.775 15.1 15.7 M-S
73:! 0.861 5.1 Br.
204 1.303 2.1 715 1.003 0.1 624 0.857 0.0
6011 1.303 0.8 82! 1.000 1.000 0,6 1.3 vw 10,2.~ 0.857 0.4 O.B
71! 1.302 1.301 0.6 3.B W-M 131 0.997 0.6 11,1,5 0.856 0.4
1111
3111
1.301
1.301
0.0
0.3
Ill l ,! 0.992
0.990
1.3
2.5 14,0,3 0.853 0.5 0.5
~~~O,O 0.990 0.989 1.9 8.3 lA-S, 12,0.5 0.850 0.0
421 1.285 1.281 4.1 4.1 W 0.9B9 I.' 8r. 333 0.850
g:~
6211 0.989 0.7
~~~O,O g:m 0.2
0.4

* Beginning with this line the ai, a2 doublet on the powder photograph was resolved.
t a2 Line from previous reflection overlaps al of this reflection.

that there are six interactions of a tetrahedrally co- to that of Ga 3-t ion, and (3) that the Fe3-t ion would
ordinated ion with octahedrally coordinated ions and prefer octahedral sites if substituted for Ga 3-t in yttrium-
six interactions of an octahedrally coordinated ion with gallium garnet, all would immediately indicate the
tetrahedrally coordinated ions. Thus there would be six possibility of producing a ferrimagnetic material from
important magnetic interactions per magnetic ion. solid solutions of Fe203 in t/-Ga203. However, experi-
From the recent paper by Gilleo,28 one would estimate ments made by Remeika prior to the determination of
a Neel temperature of about 7(){)OK for an Fe203 phase this structure, indicated that not much Fe3-t ion could
isostructural with t/-Ga 203. be made to dissolve in t/-Ga20a by solid-solid reaction,30
Now, the facts that: (1) the t/-Ga203 structure not enough, that is, to produce strong enough interac-
appears to be favorable to antiferromagnetic interac-
tion, (2) that Fe3-t ion has a crystal chemistry similar 30 J. P. Remeika (private communication).

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684 S. GELLER

TABLE VIII. Comparison of some relative diffractometer APPENDIX


and calculated intensities.
.B-Ga203 Powder Data
hkl 10
The data obtained from the x-ray diffraction powder
pattern of pulverized .B-Ga20a crystals taken with CuKa
radiation are in good agreement with those of Kohn
et al. 4 However, there are some minor discrepancies.
0.23 1.15 Furthermore, a knowledge of the structure allows us to
0.40 2.00 index the pattern more adequately, although the index-
002}
202 ing of the highest-angle lines may still be in some
doubt.
111 0.01 0.56 In Table VII, the calculated spacings and intensities 32
111 0.05 2.19 are compared with those observed. The calculations
were carried out with an IBM 704 program devised by
Dr. R. G. Treuting. Several calculations of spacings with
tion. On the other hand, Remeika has discovered a slightly different values of lattice constants indicated
new structure of formula Ga2-x Fe x03 which is ferri- that the values given by Kohn et al. 4 are good to within
magnetic (and also piewelectric). 3 Crystals have been the limits of error specified. Calculations of spacings
made with composition x=0.7 to 1.4, and these have only were carried out with a separate IBM 704 program
been reported by Wood 31 to belong to space group also devised by Dr. Treuting.
C2v9-Pc2n with eight formula units per cell. Thus It will be noticed immediately that the observed
there must be in this crystal four sets of metal ions in intensities given are only qualitative. It would appear
the general positions, the only positions, in the space that quantitative intensity measurements taken with a
group. Because the crystal with X= 1.0 is still quite diffractometer would be called for. Attempts were made
ferrimagnetic (nB at 4.2°K and H=oo is 0.95)3 the to do this, but preferred orientation difficulties indi-
indication is that the metal ions in the structure show a cated that obtaining a proper pattern would indeed be
site preference which gives the net moment. Because a time-consuming project.
both Fe* and Ga* ions have spherical electronic con- A finely divided powder all of which passed through
figurations, and the difference in their CN (6) radii a 400-mesh sieve, was used as the specimen for the
is presumably much smaller than the difference in revolving specimen holder of the Norelco diffractom-
their tetrahedral radii, there is the strong implication eter. Examination of Table VIII, in which the in-
that there are in the Ga2-x Fe x Oa two kinds of coordina- tensity of the ({ 400), 1110}) reflection is taken as
tions for the metal ions. unity and several others are compared with it is in-
dicative of the extreme effect. '
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Examination of the powder specimen with a micro-
In addition to the acknowledgments made in the text scope (144X) indicated that the crystallites were
the author wishes to thank Dr. M. Peter for discussion~ needle- or platelike with the needle axis or plate tending
~egarding the paramagnetic-resonance study of Cr3+-
to lie flat. The rotating specimen photographed with
lon-doped .B-Ga203, Professor A. Magneli for permission the Norelco 114.6 cm camera indicated a much more
to quote some results of the work on V20 3 and Ti20 3, r~nd~m di~t~ibu!ion of crystallites and gave qualita-
Dr. E. A. Wood for permission to quote the space group tIve mtensltles III much better agreement with the
?f Ga2- x Fe x03, and H. J. Seubert for making the draw- calculated ones.
mgs. 32 The expression for the calculated relative intensities is lc=
(p/4) LPPXIo-4 .wh~re p is the multiplicity, L the Lorentz
31 E. A. Wood (to be published). factor, P the polanzatlOn factor, and F the structure amplitude.

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