Ma. Subramanian et Jc. Calabrese, CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE OF THE LOW-TEMPERATURE FORM OF BISMUTH NIOBIUM OXIDE [ALPHA-BINBO4], Materials research bulletin, 28(6), 1993, pp. 523-529
Single crystals of low temperature form of BiNb4 (alpha-form) are grow
n from BiOF flux below 900-degrees-C. The crystals are colorless, trap
ezodial in shape and electrically insulating. The compound has orthorh
ombic [a = 5.673 (2), b = 11.714(4) and c = 4.978(2) angstrom] symmetr
y with a centric space group Pnna (No. 52) and z = 4. The crystal stru
cture was solved by means of single crystal x-ray diffraction and refi
ned to R = 0.031. Both Bi and Nb have distorted octahedral oxygen coor
dination. The NbO6 octahedra are linked over four comers and thus the
structure can be viewed as consisting of sheets of [NbO4]3- units sepa
rated by Bi3+ cations. The structure of alpha-BiNbO4 is essentially sa
me as that of the low temperature form of alpha-Sn2+W6+O4.