Bookmark and Share

Diffuse scattering and ordering in the short-range modulated paraelectric phase of sodium nitrite, NaNO2

Acta Cryst. (2005). B61, 473–480

[Sodium nitrite scattering] A portion of the h4l layer of NaNO2 containing diffuse satellite reflections recorded at 442 K and reconstructed by the program CrysAlis.
Contrary to the well known modulated structures with sharp satellite reflections, the diffraction pattern of a short-range modulated structure contains diffuse satellite reflections. The crystal structure of NaNO2 above TN = 437.7 K in the paraelectric phase is short-range modulated. The nanodomains elongated in the [001] direction are remnants of distorted fragments of the sinusoidally modulated crystal structure of antiferroelectric NaNO2. The size of the nanodomains and the range of order decrease with temperature. Above 480 K diffuse satellite reflections are replaced by broad diffuse streaks and the nanodomains become hardly visible.
K. Lukaszewicz, A. Pietraszko and M. Kucharska
4 September 2008