Structural Characterization of Bismuth Molybdates by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Powder Neutron Diffraction Profile Analysis

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/j100321a045

By use of synchrotron radiation, high-quality X-ray absorption data have been recorded for three bismuth molybdate phases with the general composition Bi2O3*nMoO3, for n = 3 (α phase), n = 2 (β-phase).The results of these bismuth L₃-edge and molybdenum K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies provide structural insights about the local environments of the Bi³⁺ and Mo⁶⁺ ions.Also, the structure of β-Bi2O3*2MoO3 was investigated by the use of time-of-flight powder neutron diffraction.The profile analysis of the neutron data for β-bismuth molybdate (monoclinic, P2₁/n, a=11.9515(4) Aengstroem, b=10.7993(4) Aengstroem, c=11.8805(4) Aengstroem, β=90.142(5) deg, and Z = 8) revealed that bismuth and molybdenum cations are present in a fluorite-like sublattice.