Complex Superstructures Resulting from Compositional Modulation and Octahedral Tilt Twinning in AA′BB′O6 Doubly Cation Ordered Perovskites

Abstract

The ordering of cations within the perovskite structure can have a profound effect on the physical properties. A number of AA′BB′O6 perovskite phases which have both a rock salt ordering of the B/B′ cations and a layered ordering of the A/A′ cations have recently been prepared and studied. In some of these compositions complex nanoscale superstructure formation has been observed. These superstructures are the result of compositional modulations involving the occupancies of the A and A′ cations and are accompanied by a twinning of the octahedral tilt system. A wide variety of patterns are observed, such as 1-dimensional stripes or 2-dimensional chessboards which can have periodicities which are either commensurate or incommensurate with the underlying subcell. These superstructures cannot be easily detected by powder X-ray diffraction but have been observed using a combination of high resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and neutron powder diffraction. The factors which determine the dimensionality and periodicity of the superstructures are discussed and compared with the closely related Li based perovskite systems.