Crystal structures of high-pressure phases in the alumina-water system: I. Single crystal X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics simulation ofη-Al(OH)3

Pressure-induced stacking disorder in boehmite

The structure of an aluminum layered hydroxide, boehmite (γ-AlOOH), as a function of pressure was studied by using in situ synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction. Peak broadening, which is only found for hkl (h ≠ 0) peaks in the X-ray diffraction patterns, is explained by stacking disorder accompanying a continuously increasing displacement of the AlO6 octahedral layer along the a-axis. This finding could be the first experimental result for pressure-induced stacking disorder driven by continuous layer displacement. The magnitude of the layer displacement was estimated from the X-ray scattering profile calculation based on the stacking disordered structure model. Hydrogen bond geometries of boehmite, obtained by structure refinements of the observed neutron diffraction patterns for the deuterated sample up to 10 GPa, show linearly approaching O-D covalent and DO hydrogen bond distances and they merge below 26 GPa. Pressure-induced stacking disorder makes the electrostatic potential of hydrogen bonds asymmetric, yielding less chance for proton-tunnelling.

KCo(H2O)2BP2O8·0.48H2O and K0.17Ca0.42Co(H2O)2BP2O8·H2O: two cobalt borophosphates with helical ribbons and disordered (K,Ca)/H2O schemes

The two title compounds, potassium diaquacobalt(II) borodiphosphate 0.48-hydrate and potassium-calcium(0.172/0.418) diaquacobalt(II) borodiphosphate monohydrate, were synthesized hydrothermally. They are new members of the borophosphate family characterized by (∞)[BP(2)O(8)](3-) helices running along [001] and constructed of boron (Wyckoff position 6b, twofold axis) and phosphorus tetrahedra. The [CoBP(2)O(8)](-) anionic frameworks in the two materials are structurally similar and result from a connection in the ab plane between the CoO(4)(H(2)O)(2) coordination octahedra (6b position) and the helical ribbons. Nevertheless, the two structures differ in the disorder schemes of the K,Ca and H(2)O species. The alkali cations in the structure of the pure potassium compound are disordered over three independent positions, one of them located on a 6b site. Its framework is characterized by double occupation of the tunnels by water molecules located on twofold rotation axes (6b) and a fraction of alkali cations; its cell parameters, compared with those for the mixed K,Ca compound, show abnormal changes, presumably due to the disorder. For the K,Ca compound, the K and Ca cations are on twofold axes (6b) and the channels are occupied only by disordered solvent water molecules. This shows that it is possible, due to the flexibility of the helices, to replace the alkali and alkaline earth cations while retaining the crystal framework.

Crystal structures of high-pressure phases in the alumina-water system: II. Powder X-ray diffraction study of a new dense aluminum deuteroxide, δ-Al(OD)3

In this study we report the solution of the structure of δ-Al(OD)3. The crystal structure was determined using powder X-ray diffraction and direct methods, while the positions of deuterium atoms were estimated by difference-Fourier methods and MEM/Rietveld analysis. In the A-site deficient hydroxy-perovskite-type structure of δ-Al(OD)3, we find two types of one-dimensional H-bonding network.