Structural studies of α-Bi 2 O 3 by neutron powder diffraction

A detailed neutron powder diffraction study of the atomic structure of α-Bi 2 O 3 at high temperatures using the Rietveld method was performed to clarify the nature of the unusual magnetic behavior and the origin of the high temperature dielectric anomalies of α-Bi 2 O 3 in the temperature interval 300–700 K. Analysis of obtained experimental data shows that there are no evidence of a structural phase transition in α-Bi 2 O 3 between 295 and 660 K. The observed high temperature dielectric anomalies in α-Bi 2 O 3 are evidently governed by changes in the electron subsystem of the bismuth oxide.