Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.93, No.3, 875-880, 2010
Phase Transition in Weberite-Type Gd3NbO7
Gd3NbO7 has an orthorhombic weberite-type crystal structure and undergoes a phase transition at about 340 K. The phase transition was confirmed by second harmonic generation, heat capacity measurement, and high-resolution X-ray diffraction. Above 340 K, Gd3NbO7 has a centrosymmetric weberite-type structure with space group Cmcm (No. 63) and transforms at about 340 K into a non-centrosymmetric structure with space group Cm2m (No. 38). The phase transition is mainly due to off-center shifts of Nb5+ ions within NbO6 octahedra, as well as off-center shifts of one-third of the Gd3+ ions within GdO8 polyhedra.