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Hauptverfasser: Guéroult, Quentin, Bulled, Jonathan, Patteson, Henry, Coates, Chloe, Smith, Ronald, Playford, Helen, Keen, David, Goodwin, Andrew
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.11381
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author Guéroult, Quentin
Bulled, Jonathan
Patteson, Henry
Coates, Chloe
Smith, Ronald
Playford, Helen
Keen, David
Goodwin, Andrew
author_facet Guéroult, Quentin
Bulled, Jonathan
Patteson, Henry
Coates, Chloe
Smith, Ronald
Playford, Helen
Keen, David
Goodwin, Andrew
contents The transition-metal dicyanides M(CN)$_2$ (M = Zn, Cd) are amongst the most important negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials known, favoured for the magnitude, isotropy, and thermal persistence of the NTE behaviour they show. The conventional picture of the NTE mechanism in this family is one of correlated rotations and translations of M(C/N)$_4$ polyhedra acting to draw the diamondoid network of M--CN--M linkages in on itself. An implication of this mechanism is increased transverse vibrational motion of C and N atoms relative to the isotropic displacements of M atoms, which act as anchors. Here, we use a combination of neutron total scattering measurements and \emph{ab initio} calculations to reassess the vibrational behaviour of the M(CN)$_2$ family. We find that M, C, and N atoms all exhibit similar degrees of local thermal motion, such that the cyanide linkages behave as pseudo-springs connecting M$\ldots$M pairs. This interpretation leads us to uncover a `hidden' dispersion in the M(CN)$_2$ phonon dispersions, closely related to that of diamond and silicon themselves. By virtue of this mapping, a simple geometric model based on the competing energy scales of network stretching and flexing -- long applied to interpret NTE modes in C and Si -- turns out to capture the key NTE physics of M(CN)$_2$, especially at low temperatures. Our study highlights the potential insight gained by coarse-graining the complex lattice dynamics of framework materials in terms of what we call `framework modes' -- the correlated distortions of the underlying network structure itself.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_11381
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Negative thermal expansion in transition-metal dicyanides: the hidden role of the underlying diamondoid framework
Guéroult, Quentin
Bulled, Jonathan
Patteson, Henry
Coates, Chloe
Smith, Ronald
Playford, Helen
Keen, David
Goodwin, Andrew
Materials Science
The transition-metal dicyanides M(CN)$_2$ (M = Zn, Cd) are amongst the most important negative thermal expansion (NTE) materials known, favoured for the magnitude, isotropy, and thermal persistence of the NTE behaviour they show. The conventional picture of the NTE mechanism in this family is one of correlated rotations and translations of M(C/N)$_4$ polyhedra acting to draw the diamondoid network of M--CN--M linkages in on itself. An implication of this mechanism is increased transverse vibrational motion of C and N atoms relative to the isotropic displacements of M atoms, which act as anchors. Here, we use a combination of neutron total scattering measurements and \emph{ab initio} calculations to reassess the vibrational behaviour of the M(CN)$_2$ family. We find that M, C, and N atoms all exhibit similar degrees of local thermal motion, such that the cyanide linkages behave as pseudo-springs connecting M$\ldots$M pairs. This interpretation leads us to uncover a `hidden' dispersion in the M(CN)$_2$ phonon dispersions, closely related to that of diamond and silicon themselves. By virtue of this mapping, a simple geometric model based on the competing energy scales of network stretching and flexing -- long applied to interpret NTE modes in C and Si -- turns out to capture the key NTE physics of M(CN)$_2$, especially at low temperatures. Our study highlights the potential insight gained by coarse-graining the complex lattice dynamics of framework materials in terms of what we call `framework modes' -- the correlated distortions of the underlying network structure itself.
title Negative thermal expansion in transition-metal dicyanides: the hidden role of the underlying diamondoid framework
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.11381