Neutron diffraction study of phase transitions in perovskite-type strontium molybdate SrMoO3.

The structure of a polycrystalline sample of SrMoO3 has been investigated using powder neutron diffraction from 5 to 300 K, to reveal two structural phase transitions, the first from the cubic structure with a=3.97629(3) Å to a tetragonal structure in I4/mcm near 266 K and the second to an orthorhombic Imma phase below 125 K. The average Mo–O distance is essentially independent of temperature. The temperature dependence of the octahedral tilting appears typical of a tricritical phase transition. © 2009, Elsevier Ltd