Glass transition in ferroic glass Kx(ND4)1−xD2PO4: a complete x-ray diffraction line shape analysis

Abstract

Quenching of dynamic disorder in glassy systems is termed as the glass transition. Ferroic glasses belong to the class of paracrystalline materials having crystallographic order in-between that of a perfect crystal and amorphous material, a classic example of ferroic glass is the solid solution of ferroelectric deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate and antiferroelectric deuterated ammonium dihydrogen phosphate. Lowering temperature of this ferroic glass can lead to a glass transition to a quenched disordered state. The subtle atomic rearrangement that takes place at such a glass transition can be revealed by careful examination of the temperature induced changes occurring in the x-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns of these materials. Hence we report here results of a complete diffraction line shape analysis of the XRD patterns recorded at different temperatures from deuterated mixed crystals DKxA1−xDP with mixing concentration x ranging as 0 < x < 1. Changes observed in diffraction peak shapes have been explained on the basis of structural rearrangements induced by changing O–D–O hydrogen bond dynamics in these paracrystals.