Sheared structure Pb4Sr14Fe23O52 solved by three-dimensional electron diffraction combined with atomic scale STEM imaging.

Abstract

Ferrite Pb4Sr14Fe23O52 was synthesized in 2006, and its structure was partially described from the interpretation of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. Twenty years later, thanks to the constant development in electron crystallography, the crystal structure of this oxide is fully determined by combining three-dimensional electron diffraction with aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic lattice, space group C2/c, with unit-cell parameters a = 34.782 (8) Å, b = 5.522 (2) Å, c = 24.962 (7) Å and β = 99.11 (2)°. The dynamically refined structure consists of the collapse of a single perovskite layer and an oxygen-deficient rock-salt-type layer. This work demonstrates the potential of combining electron crystallography and atomic resolution STEM imaging to solve complex oxide structures that remained inaccessible using earlier experimental approaches.

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