A New Refinement of [alpha]-Sr₂P₂O₇

The crystal structure of [alpha]-Sr₂P₂O₇, distrontium diphosphate, has been refined by X-ray diffraction using single crystals grown from a SrLiPO₄-P₂O₅ melt cooled between 1323 and 1073 K. The fully anisotropic refinement confirms the centrosymmetric Pnma space group, but also reveals a strong anisotropy along the b direction for two oxygen atoms. This anisotropy suggests atomic scale disorder associated with the local loss of mirror symmetry and the formation of a noncentrosymmetric structural arrangement.

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