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Title: Microscopic view of disorder in the ordered phase of superionic RbAg/sub 4/I/sub 5/

Journal Article · · Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States)

Moessbauer spectroscopy in /sup 129/I was employed to verify the existence and investigate the properties of local disorder in the ''ordered'' state of the superionic conductor RbAg/sub 4/I/sub 5/. Studies were conducted in the temperature range of 4--180 K covering the low-temperature ..gamma.. phase (T<122 K) and part of the high-conductivity, disordered ..beta.. phase. The absorption spectra at all temperatures were analyzed with two iodine sites, characterized by their quadrupole splitting and isomer-shift values and a third site with a nonsplit single line. It was found that the electric field gradient (efg) at the /sup 129/I nucleus, produced by the neighboring Ag ions, has a continuous linear temperature dependence down to 4.2 K. The hyperfine constants and the Debye-Waller factor showed no discontinuity at T/sub c/. The anomalous existence of the single line has been attributed to a fast fluctuating efg due to local hopping of the Ag ions. This dynamic disorder is present even at low temperatures where (8--10)% of Ag ions are locally hopping, and its occurrence increases drastically at T>T/sub c/. A nonharmonic Debye-Waller factor was observed from which a linear temperature-dependent Debye temperature could be derived.

Research Organization:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel
OSTI ID:
5696565
Journal Information:
Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter; (United States), Vol. 28:1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English