inorganic compounds
PbZn1/3Nb2/3O3 at 4.2 and 295 K
aSchool of Engineering, University of Newcastle, New South Wales 2308, Australia, and bISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0QX, England
*Correspondence e-mail: erich.kisi@newcastle.edu.au
The structure of the relaxor ferroelectric lead zinc niobium trioxide, Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3, known as PZN, was determined at 4.2 and 295 K from very high resolution neutron powder diffraction data. The material is known for its extraordinary piezoelectric properties which are closely linked to the structure. Pseudo-cubic lattice parameters have led to considerable controversy over the symmetry of the structure, which was found to be rhombohedral in the R3m at both temperatures. Atomic coordinates have been determined for the first time. They show that, whereas the deviation of the rhombohedral angle from 90° approaches zero at 295 K, the atomic coordinates do not approach typical cubic positions and hence the polarization remains high.
Comment
Recently, the crystal structures of the perovskite relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (lead zinc niobate or PZN) and its alloys with PbTiO3 (PZN-xPT) have been widely debated in relation to the exceptional piezoelectric properties of these materials (e.g. Park & Shrout, 1997). A curious aspect of the crystal structure–property relationship in these materials is that the maximum piezoelectric response is along [001], whereas the spontaneous polarization is along [111] of the nominally rhombohedral crystals. Single-domain single crystals are not available and so previous work has relied on synchrotron X-ray (Noheda et al., 2001; Noheda, Cox & Shirane, 2002; Cox et al., 2001) and neutron diffraction (Ohwada et al., 2001) reciprocal-space scans around a limited number of reflections from polydomain single crystals, and on X-ray powder diffraction (Ohwada et al., 2001; Noheda, Zhong et al., 2002; La-Orauttapong et al., 2002). All of the previous experimental studies have dealt only with the lattice symmetry, due to a focus of the work on the polarization rotation hypothesis for the large piezoelectric response (Fu & Cohen, 2000). The materials are pseudo-cubic, making the determination of the true symmetry extremely difficult, even with three-axis diffractometers (Noheda, Zhong et al., 2002). Park & Shrout (1997) first suggested that an electric field-induced occurred during piezoelectric cycling of PZN-8%PT and that this facilitates the large piezoelectric response. This was rapidly supported by X-ray diffraction studies (Paik et al., 1999; Durbin et al., 1999). The observed symmetry was pseudo-tetragonal. However, Durbin et al. (1999) noted that the true symmetry was more likely to be monoclinic. Noheda et al. (2001) also concluded that a field-induced transition was responsible and proposed that the monoclinic is Pm. The same or a very similar mechanism has been proposed for all PZN-xPT crystals in the range 0 < x < 9%.
The counterpoint has come from Kisi et al. (2003) who argued, on group theoretical and physical property grounds, that the large response is more likely to be founded on the very soft elastic constants of the materials than on the lattice symmetry. The observed monoclinic symmetry under an electric field directed along [001] is exactly as expected for the conventional piezoelectric distortion of a rhombohedral crystal. However, this does not constitute a nor does it explain the large piezoelectric response. An understanding of the connection between the and the piezoelectric properties can only be derived from measured ion coordinates. These can then be used to compute the electric polarization by methods such as that given by Darlington et al. (1994).
This paper reports the full et al. (2005) in relation to reports of a cubic `X-phase' in this system. Rietveld refinements were initially conducted using the 4.2 K data, due to the larger rhombohedral distortion at this temperature. Refinements in the R3m, illustrated in Fig. 1(a), gave reasonable agreement. The major misfit is due to slightly anisotropic reflection widths, in which 200 is broader than 111 by ≃ 0.2 times the full width at half-maximum. Geometrically, it is possible for a monoclinic distortion both to split the 111 reflection (β > 90°) and to broaden 200 (a ≠ b ≠ c) if a, b and c are sufficiently similar. Given that monoclinic phases have been reported in this material, refinements were attempted in all of the monoclinic space groups recently proposed [Cm, Cc (Ic) and Pm], with unsatisfactory results. No improvement in the agreement was observed even when a considerable number of extra parameters were added to the The best fit, shown in Fig. 1(b), used the monoclinic structure in Cm (Frantti et al., 2003). Octahedral rotation in combination with ferroelectric cation displacements was ruled out by the absence of R-point (e.g. R3c) or M-point (e.g. Cc) reflections. This was confirmed by which converged to unrotated octahedral positions regardless of the initial conditions. A two-phase mixture of rhombohedral (R3m) and tetragonal (P4mm) structures was also tested for completeness. The final refinements were undertaken in R3m using the anisotropic broadening model of Stephens (1999), as implemented in GSAS (Larson & Von Dreele, 1986), to model the effect of interdomain strains due to the microscopic ferroelectric domain structure within the crystallites. Only one additional parameter, S400, was required. The final fit is illustrated in Fig. 1(c). A projection of the structure at 4.2 K perpendicular to the polar axis, [111], is illustrated in Fig. 2(a) and an equivalent view of the undistorted cubic structure is shown in Fig. 2(b). The Pb atoms are aligned, illustrating the large relative displacement of the Zn/Nb and O ions.
of the end member, PZN, for the first time. The use of very high resolution neutron diffraction ensures both that the O-ion positions are reliably determined in the presence of far heavier elements such as Pb, and that the problem of pseudo-symmetry is minimized. Data at both 4.2 and 295 K were used to enhance the discrimination between different structural models. Visual inspection of the 111, 200 and 222 reflections in the high-resolution neutron diffraction patterns supported the conventional rhombohedral symmetry. The 111 and 222 reflections are split approximately in the ratio 3:1 and 200 remains unsplit. This aspect has been discussed by KisiStructure refinements using the 295 K data were undertaken using the 4.2 K structure as a starting point. The refined structure at 295 K is the same as that at 4.2 K, with slightly reduced rhombohedral distortion and cation displacements. The departure of the rhombohedral angle from 90° diminishes with increasing temperature as the transition to cubic at approximately 400 K is approached. However, the atom coordinates remain relatively unchanged. Similar behaviour has been observed as phase transitions are approached in some other 3 (Darlington et al., 1994). This is somewhat contrary to the widely held notion that the ferroelectric distortion controls the at all levels, i.e. that the should always scale with the ion positions and electric polarization. PZN has an extremely small distortion from cubic and yet has a large polarization, in contrast with, say, PbTiO3, which has a large spontaneous strain but considerably smaller polarization. These observations indicate that, in ferroelectric materials, the relationship between the lattice parameters and atomic coordinates (and hence electric polarization) is more complex than in the non-ferroelectric perovskites.
such as BaTiOExperimental
The et al. (1996) was used to grow single crystals of composition Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3. Crystals in the size range 0.5–15 mm were extracted from the in a hot HNO3 solution. The chemical composition of the crystals and their were verified using scanning electron microscopy-based energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Using an agate pestle and mortar, crystals were lightly crushed to a size that passed through a coarse sieve (143 µm), so as to avoid strain and particle-size broadening. Good powder averaging was obtained using approximately 2 ml of powder sample.
growth method of MulvihillNeutron powder diffraction patterns were recorded in transmission on the HRPD diffractometer (resolution Δd/d ≃ 4 × 10−4) at the ISIS facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, England. Samples were held in a thin-walled aluminium can within a liquid helium cryostat. Diffraction patterns were recorded from 30 to 130 ms at room temperature and at 4.2 K for 20 and 90 min, respectively.
PZN at 4.2 K
Crystal data
|
Data collection
|
Refinement
PZN at 295 K
Crystal data
|
Data collection
|
Refinement
Rietveld analyses used the program GSAS (Larson & Von Dreele, 1986). Data from the small crystal sample recorded by both the high-resolution backscattering bank and the high-intensity 90° detector bank were used simultaneously. Typically, lattice parameters, atom coordinates (Zn/Nb, O), isotropic displacement parameters (Zn/Nb), anisotropic displacement parameters (Pb, O), scale, eight polynomial background parameters and two peak profile parameters were used. The 4.2 K data were used to refine the Zn/Nb ratio of the B cation site and this ratio was held constant during refinements based on the 295 K data. In addition, the anisotropic peak-broadening model of Stephens (1999) was applied.
For both compounds, data collection: ISIS software (local programs); program(s) used to refine structure: GSAS (Larson & Von Dreele, 1986); molecular graphics: CaRine Crystallography (Bondias & Monceau, 2005) and GRAPHER (Golden Software, 2005); software used to prepare material for publication: GSAS.
Supporting information
10.1107/S0108270106011991/fa1185sup1.cif
contains datablocks global, PZN_structure_295K, I, PZN4K, 295K, 295K_Backscatter_detector, G31287_ANISO_p_02, PZN295K. DOI:Rietveld powder data: contains datablock PZN_4K. DOI: 10.1107/S0108270106011991/fa1185PZN4Ksup2.rtv
Rietveld powder data: contains datablock PZN_295K. DOI: 10.1107/S0108270106011991/fa1185PZN295Ksup3.rtv
The ≈ 2 ml of powder sample.
growth method of Mulvihill et al. (1996) was used to grow single crystals of composition Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3. Crystals in the size range 0.5–15 mm were extracted from the in a hot HNO3 solution. The chemical composition of the crystals and their were verified using scanning electron microscopy-based EDS [Please give in full] analysis. Using an agate pestle and mortar, crystals were lightly crushed to a size that passed through a coarse sieve (143 µm), so as to avoid strain and particle-size broadening. Good powder averaging was obtained usingNeutron powder diffraction patterns were recorded in transmission on the HRPD diffractometer (resolution Δd/d ≈ 4 × 10−4) at the ISIS facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK. Samples were held in a thin-walled aluminium can within a liquid helium cryostat. Diffraction patterns were recorded from 30 to 130 ms at room temperature and at 4.2 K for 20 min and 90 min, respectively.
Rietveld analyses used the program GSAS (Larson & Von Dreele, 1986). Data from the small crystal sample recorded by both the high-resolution backscattering bank and the high-intensity 90° detector bank were used simultaneously. Typically, lattice parameters, atom coordinates (Zn/Nb, O), isotropic displacement parameters (Zn/Nb), anisotropic displacement parameters (Pb, O), scale, eight polynomial background parameters and two peak profile parameters were used. The 4.2 K data were used to refine the Zn/Nb ratio of the B cation site and this ratio was held constant during refinements based on the 295 K data. In addition, the anisotropic peak-broadening model of Stephens (1999) was applied.
Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 | Dx = 8.367 Mg m−3 |
Mr = 337.40 | Time-of-flight neutron radiation |
Trigonal, R3m | T = 4 K |
a = 4.06048 (6) Å | Particle morphology: <143 µm particles |
c = 4.06048 Å | pale yellow |
V = 66.95 (1) Å3 | ?, ? × ? × ? mm |
Z = 1 |
HRPD, ISIS, Didcot diffractometer | Scan method: time of flight |
Radiation source: ISIS, Spallation | 2θfixed = 168.33 |
Specimen mounting: 11mm Al slab can | Distance from specimen to detector: 1000 mm |
Data collection mode: transmission |
Least-squares matrix: full | Excluded region(s): no excluded regions |
Rp = 0.062 | 34 parameters |
Rwp = 0.074 | 0 restraints |
Rexp = ? | Weighting scheme based on measured s.u.'s |
R(F2) = 0.06901 | (Δ/σ)max = 0.01 |
χ2 = 6.150 | Background function: GSAS Background function number 1 with 12 terms. Shifted Chebyshev function of 1st kind 1: 0.439789 2: 2.990220E-03 3: 4.821580E-02 4: 1.914300E-02 5: 3.191740E-02 6: 3.362380E-02 7: 1.183440E-02 8: 7.640780E-03 9: 1.057330E-0210: 2.050820E-0211: -4.850290E-0312: 1.058700E-02 |
? data points |
Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 | V = 66.95 (1) Å3 |
Mr = 337.40 | Z = 1 |
Trigonal, R3m | Time-of-flight neutron radiation |
a = 4.06048 (6) Å | T = 4 K |
c = 4.06048 Å | ?, ? × ? × ? mm |
HRPD, ISIS, Didcot diffractometer | Scan method: time of flight |
Specimen mounting: 11mm Al slab can | 2θfixed = 168.33 |
Data collection mode: transmission | Distance from specimen to detector: 1000 mm |
Rp = 0.062 | χ2 = 6.150 |
Rwp = 0.074 | ? data points |
Rexp = ? | 34 parameters |
R(F2) = 0.06901 | 0 restraints |
Experimental. resolution Δd/d ≈4x10-4 Diffraction patterns recorded from 30 to 130 ms |
x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | Occ. (<1) | |
Pb1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.04227 | |
Zn1 | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0142 (3)* | 0.389 |
Nb1 | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0258 (3) | 0.0142 (3)* | 0.611 |
O1 | 0.5438 (5) | 0.0547 (4) | 0.0547 (4) | 0.02313 |
U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 | |
Pb1 | 0.0423 (5) | 0.0423 (5) | 0.0423 (5) | −0.0146 (5) | −0.0146 (5) | −0.0146 (5) |
O1 | 0.0239 (8) | 0.0227 (5) | 0.0227 (5) | 0.0004 (6) | 0.0004 (6) | −0.0045 (8) |
Pb1—Nb1 | 3.343 (2) | Pb1—O1i | 2.8907 (3) |
Pb1—Nb1i | 3.4572 (6) | Nb1—O1iii | 1.964 (2) |
Pb1—Nb1ii | 3.5787 (7) | Nb1—O1 | 2.110 (3) |
Pb1—O1 | 2.565 (2) | ||
O1—Pb1—O1iv | 66.28 (7) | O1—Nb1—O1iv | 83.3 (1) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1 | 170.6 (2) | Pb1—O1—Nb1 | 90.73 (7) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1v | 96.5 (1) | Pb1—O1—Nb1vi | 98.7 (1) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1iv | 89.70 (2) | Nb1—O1—Nb1vi | 170.6 (2) |
Symmetry codes: (i) x, y, z+1; (ii) x, y+1, z+1; (iii) x−1, y, z; (iv) z, x, y; (v) z, x−1, y; (vi) x+1, y, z. |
Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 | Z = 1 |
Mr = 338.93 | Dx = 8.396 Mg m−3 |
Trigonal, R3m | Time-of-flight neutron radiation, λ = 0.65-2.45 Å |
a = 4.06240 (8) Å | T = 295 K |
c = 4.0624 Å | pale yellow |
V = 67.04 (1) Å3 | ?, ? × ? × ? mm |
Least-squares matrix: full | ? data points |
Rp = 0.075 | 37 parameters |
Rwp = 0.088 | 0 restraints |
Rexp = ? | (Δ/σ)max = 0.03 |
R(F2) = 0.08346 | Background function: GSAS Background function number 1 with 12 terms. Shifted Chebyshev function of 1st kind 1: 0.236557 2: 9.505910E-03 3: 2.018040E-02 4: 6.956430E-03 5: 8.509230E-03 6: 1.341600E-02 7: 3.919290E-03 8: 2.020580E-03 9: 5.622050E-0410: 8.049800E-0311: -3.196390E-0312: 3.955620E-03; GSAS Background function number 4 with 4 terms. Power series in Q**2n/n! 1: 0.441369 2: -1.651550E-03 3: 4.525360E-05 4: 2.316550E-05 |
χ2 = 2.220 |
Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 | V = 67.04 (1) Å3 |
Mr = 338.93 | Z = 1 |
Trigonal, R3m | Time-of-flight neutron radiation, λ = 0.65-2.45 Å |
a = 4.06240 (8) Å | T = 295 K |
c = 4.0624 Å | ?, ? × ? × ? mm |
Rp = 0.075 | χ2 = 2.220 |
Rwp = 0.088 | ? data points |
Rexp = ? | 37 parameters |
R(F2) = 0.08346 | 0 restraints |
x | y | z | Uiso*/Ueq | Occ. (<1) | |
Pb1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0494 | |
Zn1 | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0167 (5)* | 0.39 |
Nb1 | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0216 (5) | 0.0167 (5)* | 0.61 |
O1 | 0.5377 (7) | 0.0469 (6) | 0.0469 (6) | 0.0269 |
U11 | U22 | U33 | U12 | U13 | U23 | |
Pb1 | 0.0495 (8) | 0.0495 (8) | 0.0495 (8) | −0.012 (1) | −0.012 (1) | −0.012 (1) |
O1 | 0.023 (1) | 0.0288 (7) | 0.0288 (7) | −0.0013 (9) | −0.0013 (9) | −0.005 (1) |
Pb1—Nb1 | 3.362 (3) | Pb1—O1i | 2.8868 (4) |
Pb1—Nb1i | 3.466 (1) | Nb1—O1iii | 1.977 (4) |
Pb1—Nb1ii | 3.574 (1) | Nb1—O1 | 2.094 (4) |
Pb1—O1 | 2.614 (3) | ||
O1—Pb1—O1iv | 65.3 (1) | O1—Nb1—O1iv | 84.6 (2) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1 | 172.5 (3) | Pb1—O1—Nb1 | 90.5 (1) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1v | 95.3 (2) | Pb1—O1—Nb1vi | 97.1 (2) |
O1iii—Nb1—O1iv | 89.80 (2) | Nb1—O1—Nb1vi | 172.5 (3) |
Symmetry codes: (i) x, y, z+1; (ii) x, y+1, z+1; (iii) x−1, y, z; (iv) z, x, y; (v) z, x−1, y; (vi) x+1, y, z. |
Experimental details
(PZN4K) | (295K) | |
Crystal data | ||
Chemical formula | Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 | Nb0.61O3PbZn0.39 |
Mr | 337.40 | 338.93 |
Crystal system, space group | Trigonal, R3m | Trigonal, R3m |
Temperature (K) | 4 | 295 |
a, c (Å) | 4.06048 (6), 4.06048 | 4.06240 (8), 4.0624 |
α (°) | 89.8693 (4) | 89.9226 (5) |
V (Å3) | 66.95 (1) | 67.04 (1) |
Z | 1 | 1 |
Radiation type | Time-of-flight neutron | Time-of-flight neutron, λ = 0.65-2.45 Å |
µ (mm−1) | ? | – |
Specimen shape, size (mm) | ?, ? × ? × ? | ?, ? × ? × ? |
Data collection | ||
Diffractometer | HRPD, ISIS, Didcot diffractometer | HRPD beamline, ISIS, Didcot diffractometer |
Specimen mounting | 11mm Al slab can | ? |
Data collection mode | Transmission | ? |
Scan method | Time of flight | ? |
2θ values (°) | 2θfixed = 168.33 | 2θmin = ? 2θmax = ? 2θstep = ? |
Distance from specimen to detector (mm) | 1000 | – |
Refinement | ||
R factors and goodness of fit | Rp = 0.062, Rwp = 0.074, Rexp = ?, R(F2) = 0.06901, χ2 = 6.150 | Rp = 0.075, Rwp = 0.088, Rexp = ?, R(F2) = 0.08346, χ2 = 2.220 |
No. of data points | ? | ? |
No. of parameters | 34 | 37 |
Computer programs: GSAS.
Acknowledgements
The authors extend thanks to Dr Christopher Howard for reviewing the work prior to submission. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council and the Access to Major Research Facilities Programme.
References
Bondias, C. & Monceau, D. (2005). CaRine Crystallography. Distributed by Divergent SA, Compiegne, France. Google Scholar
Cox, D. E., Noheda, B., Shirane, G., Uesu, Y., Fujishiro, K. & Yamada, Y. (2001). Appl. Phys. Lett. 79, 400–402. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Darlington, C. N. W., David, W. I. F. & Knight, K. S. (1994). Phase Transitions, 48, 217–236. CrossRef CAS Web of Science Google Scholar
Durbin, M. K., Jacobs, E. W., Hicks, J. C. & Park, S.-E. (1999). Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 2848–2850. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Frantti, J., Eriksson, S., Hull, S., Lantto, V., Rundlof, H. & Kakihana, M. (2003). J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 15, 6031–6041. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Fu, H. & Cohen, R. E. (2000). Nature (London), 403, 281–283. PubMed CAS Google Scholar
Golden Software (2005). GRAPHER. Golden Software Inc., Golden, Colorado, USA. Google Scholar
Kisi, E. H., Forrester, J. S. & Knight, K. S. (2005). J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 17, L381–L384. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Kisi, E. H., Piltz, R. O., Forrester, J. S. & Howard, C. J. (2003). J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 15, 3631–3640. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
La-Orauttapong, D., Noheda, B., Ye, Z.-G., Gehring, P. M., Toulouse, J., Cox, D. E. & Shirane, G. (2002). Phys. Rev. B, 65, 144101. Web of Science CrossRef Google Scholar
Larson, A. C. & Von Dreele, R. B. (1986). GSAS. Report LAUR 86-748. Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico, USA. Google Scholar
Mulvihill, M. L., Park, S.-E., Risch, G., Li, Z., Uchino, K. & Shrout, T. R. (1996). Jpn J. Appl. Phys. 35, 3984–3990. CrossRef CAS Web of Science Google Scholar
Noheda, B., Cox, D. E. & Shirane, G. (2002). Proceedings of the 10th International Meeting on Ferroelectrics (IMF-10), Madrid, September 2001; published in Ferroelectrics (2002), 267, 147–155. Google Scholar
Noheda, B., Cox, D. E., Shirane, G., Park, S.-E., Cross, L. E. & Zhong, Z. (2001). Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3891–3894. Web of Science CrossRef PubMed CAS Google Scholar
Noheda, B., Zhong, Z., Cox, D. E., Shirane, G., Park, S.-E. & Rehring, P. (2002). Phys. Rev. B, 65, 224101. Web of Science CrossRef Google Scholar
Ohwada, K., Hirota, K., Rehrig, P. W., Gehring, P. M., Noheda, B., Fujii, Y., Park, S.-E. & Shirane, G. (2001). J. Phys. Soc. Jpn, 70, 2778–2783. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Paik, D.-S., Park, S.-E., Wada, S., Liu, S.-F. & Shrout, T. R. (1999). J. Appl. Phys. 85, 1080–1083. Web of Science CrossRef CAS Google Scholar
Park, S.-E. & Shrout, T. R. (1997). J. Appl. Phys. 82, 1804–1811. CrossRef CAS Web of Science Google Scholar
Stephens, P. W. (1999). J. Appl. Cryst. 32, 281–289. Web of Science CrossRef CAS IUCr Journals Google Scholar
© International Union of Crystallography. Prior permission is not required to reproduce short quotations, tables and figures from this article, provided the original authors and source are cited. For more information, click here.
Recently, the crystal structures of the perovskite relaxor ferroelectric Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (lead zinc niobate or PZN) and its alloys with PbTiO3 (PZN-xPT) have been widely debated in relation to the exceptional piezoelectric properties of these materials (e.g. Park & Shrout, 1997). A curious aspect of the crystal structure–property relationship in these materials is that the maximum piezoelectric response is along [001], whereas the spontaneous polarization is along [111] of the nominally rhombohedral crystals. Single-domain single crystals are not available and so previous work has relied on synchrotron X-ray (Noheda et al., 2001; Noheda, Cox & Shirane, 2002; Cox et al., 2001) and neutron diffraction (Ohwada et al., 2001) reciprocal-space scans around a limited number of reflections from poly domain single crystals, and on X-ray powder diffraction (Ohwada et al., 2001; Noheda, Zhong et al., 2002; La-Orauttapong et al., 2002). All of the previous experimental studies have dealt only with the lattice symmetry, due to a focus of the work on the polarization rotation hypothesis for the large piezoelectric response (Fu & Cohen, 2000). The materials are pseudo-cubic, making the determination of the true symmetry extremely difficult, even with three-axis diffractometers (Noheda, Zhong et al., 2002). Park & Shrout (1997) first suggested that an electric field-induced phase transition occurred during piezoelectric cycling of PZN-8%PT and that this facilitates the large piezoelectric response. This was rapidly supported by X-ray diffraction studies (Paik et al., 1999; Durbin et al., 1999). The observed symmetry was pseudo-tetragonal. However, Durbin et al. (1999) noted that the true symmetry was more likely to be monoclinic. Noheda et al. (2001) also concluded that a field-induced transition was responsible and proposed that the monoclinic space group is Pm. The same or a very similar mechanism has been proposed for all PZN-xPT crystals in the range 0 < x < 9%.
The counterpoint has come from Kisi et al. (2003) who argued, on group theoretical and physical property grounds, that the large response is more likely to be founded on the very soft elastic constants of the materials than on the lattice symmetry. The observed monoclinic symmetry under an electric field directed along [001] is exactly as expected for the conventional piezoelectric distortion of a rhombohedral crystal. However, this does not constitute a phase transition, nor does it explain the large piezoelectric response. An understanding of the connection between the crystal structure and the piezoelectric properties can only be derived from measured ion coordinates. These can then be used to compute the electric polarization by methods such as that given by Darlington et al. (1994).
This paper reports the full crystal structure of the end member, PZN, for the first time. The use of very high resolution neutron diffraction ensures both that the O ion positions are reliably determined in the presence of far heavier elements such as Pb, and that the problem of pseudo-symmetry is minimized. Data at both 4.2 K and 295 K were used to enhance the discrimination between different structural models. Visual inspection of the 111, 200 and 222 reflections in the high-resolution neutron diffraction patterns supported the conventional rhombohedral symmetry. The 111 and 222 reflections are split approximately in the ratio 3:1 and 200 remains un-split. This aspect has been discussed by Kisi et al. (2005) in relation to reports of a cubic `X-phase' in this system. Rietveld refinements were initially conducted using the 4.2 K data, due to the larger rhombohedral distortion at this temperature. Refinements in space group R3m, illustrated in Fig. 1(a), gave reasonable agreement. The major misfit is due to slightly anisotropic reflection widths, in which 200 is broader than 111 by ≈ 0.2 times the full width at half-maximum. Geometrically, it is possible for a monoclinic distortion both to split the 111 reflection (β > 90°) and to broaden 200 (a ≠ b ≠ c) if a, b and c are sufficiently similar. Given that monoclinic phases have been reported in this material, refinements were attempted in all of the monoclinic space groups recently proposed [Cm, Cc (Ic) and Pm], with unsatisfactory results. No improvement in the agreement was observed even when a considerable number of extra parameters were added to the refinement. The best fit, shown in Fig. 1(b), used the monoclinic structure in Cm (Frantti et al., 2003). Octahedral rotation in combination with ferroelectric cation displacements was ruled out by the absence of R-point (e.g. R3c) or M-point (e.g. Cc) superlattice reflections. This was confirmed by Rietveld refinement, which converged to un-rotated octahedral positions regardless of the initial conditions. A two-phase mixture of rhombohedral (R3m) and tetragonal (P4 mm) structures was also tested for completeness. The final refinements were undertaken in R3m using the anisotropic broadening model of Stephens (1999), as implemented in GSAS (Larson & Von Dreele, 1986), to model the effect of interdomain strains due to the microscopic ferroelectric domain structure within the crystallites. Only one additional parameter, S400, was required. The final fit is illustrated in Fig. 1(c). A projection of the structure at 4.2 K perpendicular to the polar axis, [111], is illustrated in Fig. 2(a) and an equivalent view of the undistorted cubic structure is shown in Fig. 2(b). The Pb atoms are aligned, illustrating the large relative displacement of the Zn/Nb and O ions.
Structure refinements using the 295 K data were undertaken using the 4.2 K structure as a starting point. The refined structure at 295 K is the same as that at 4.2 K, with slightly reduced rhombohedral distortion and cation displacements. The departure of the rhombohedral angle from 90° diminishes with increasing temperature as the transition to cubic at approximately 400 K is approached. However, the atom coordinates remain relatively unchanged. Similar behaviour has been observed as phase transitions are approached in some other ferroelectrics, such as BaTiO3 (Darlington et al., 1994). This is somewhat contrary to the widely held notion that the ferroelectric distortion controls the crystal structure at all levels, i.e. that the lattice distortion should always scale with the ion positions and electric polarization. PZN has an extremely small distortion from cubic and yet has a large polarization, in contrast with, say, PbTiO3, which has a large spontaneous strain but considerably smaller polarization. These observations indicate that, in ferroelectric materials, the relationship between the lattice parameters and atom coordinates (and hence electric polarization) is more complex than in the non-ferroelectric perovskites.