Structures and phase transitions in barium sodium niobate tungsten bronze (BNN)

Abstract

The room-temperature structure of the filled tetragonal tungsten bronze, Ba2NaNb5O15 (BNN), has been the subject of a number of studies, and these studies have given an almost corresponding number of different results. From a group theoretical examination of the different possibilities and a review of the published experimental results we conclude that the room-temperature structure is that proposed by Labbé et al. [J. Phys. Condens. Matter (1989), 2, 25–43] in the space group Bbm2 (Ama2 in standard setting) on a 2\sqrt{2}a × \sqrt{2}a × 2c cell. Upon heating, the structure remains ferroelectric but becomes tetragonal (space group P4bm) at 550 K, then paraelectric (space group P4/mbm) at and above 860 K.