摘要
A new high-temperature allotropic form of indium phosphate, β-InPO4, has been obtained through quenching of an amorphous InPO4 phase heated for one hour at 1 300 °C. The two precursor amorphous phases, prepared according to two different soft chemistry procedures, lead to the same β derivative. The β-InPO4 structure is the same as the high-temperature varieties presented by MgSO4 and CoSO4, with an orthorhombic cell and the parameters a = 8.8800(1) Å, b = 6.8989(1) Å, c = 4.8082(1) Å, V = 294.56(1) Å3 and Z = 4. The space group is Pnma. The structure was refined using the Rietveld method (Rp = 0.041, Rwp = 0.056 and χ2 = 2.63). It is built from [InO6] octahedra sharing edges to constitute [InO4] chains running in one direction and linked by [PO4] tetrahedra. The α and β structures are compared and discussed.