2023.04.27

[Press Release (Tokyo Tech)] Discovery of Hidden Order in a Disordered Crystal Structure of an Oxide Ion Conductor!

A research team led by the Yashima Group at Tokyo Institute of Technology has developed a new quantitative method, the "RXRD/NMR method," which combines Resonant X-ray Diffraction (RXRD), solid-state NMR, and first-principles calculations. Using this approach, the team discovered chemical ordering of molybdenum in a new ion conductor, Ba7Nb4MoO20, with a disordered structure. They also conducted neutron diffraction analyses to clarify the crystal structure, revealing that molybdenum is ordered near the ion-conducting layers, which contributes to high ion conductivity. The RXRD/NMR method enables quantitative assessment of chemical ordering and disorder in powder and polycrystalline materials, and is expected to be applicable to SOFCs and other electrochemical devices in the future.
　　The research group includes Mr. Yuta Yasui (Tokyo Institute of Technology, graduate student at the time), Professor Masatomo Yashima (Tokyo Institute of Technology), Assistant Professor Kotaro Fujii (Tokyo Institute of Technology), Principal Investigator Dr. Masataka Tansho (NIMS), Professor Takahiro Iijima (Yamagata University), Professor Toshiyasu Otomo (KEK), and collaborators at Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (SPring-8).

These results were published in the journal “Nature Communications” on April 24, 2023.
Source: Tokyo Institute of Technology and other press releases (published in Nature Communications, April 24, 2023)

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