Short- and middle-ranges order structures of KNbO nanocrystals

Yoneda, Yasuhiro   ; Kunisada, Ryoichi*; Chikada, Tsukasa*; Ueno, Shintaro*; Fujii, Ichiro*; Nagata, Hajime*; Ohara, Koji*; Wada, Satoshi*

We studied KNbO nanocrystals grown by a solvothermal method. Average and local structures were refined by combining Rietveld and PDF analysis. We found that a rhombohedrally distorted NbO octahedron was maintained in short-range order region, even in the nanocrystals with a cubic average structure. The cubic structure of KNbO nanocrystals were observed as a disordered phase of the rhombohedral structure. The disordered feature can be understood that the structural transformation owing to the particle-size effect is analogous to the temperature-driven phase transition.