Phase transition and internal crystal structure of superprotonic conductor, RbKH(SeO)

Kiyanagi, Ryoji; Matsuo, Yasumitsu*; Ohara, Takashi; Kawasaki, Takuro; Oikawa, Kenichi; Kaneko, Koji; Tamura, Itaru; Hanashima, Takayasu*; Munakata, Koji*; Nakao, Akiko*; et al.

no journal, , 

The materials, MH(XO) (M=alkaline metal, X=Se, S), exhibit high protonic conductivities in a relatively low temperature region. The high protonic conductivities emerge upon a structural phase transition and the phase transition temperature (Tc) varies depending on the elements of M and X. In this study, mixed materials, RbKH(SeO), were studied by means of conductivity measurements and single crystal neutron structure analyses in order to clarify how the elements at the M site affect the Tc from the structural aspect. The conductivity measurements revealed that the Tc decreased as the K content increased. The variation of the Tc was found to be non-linear with respect to the K content. The structure analyses showed that the K ions preferred to occupy one of two M sites and the occupancy of the K ion at this site non-linearly varied. In addition, the SeO tetrahedron became more distorted as the K content increased, suggesting the close relationship between the distortion and the Tc.