Distortions in Octahedrally Coordinated d0 Transition Metal Oxides:  A Continuous Symmetry Measures Approach

More than 750 d 0 transition metal oxide octahedra have been examined in order to better understand the out-of-center distortion occurring with these cations. A continuous symmetry measures approach was used to quantify the magnitude and direction of the distortion. Using this approach we were able to divide the d 0 transition metals into three categories: strong (Mo 6+ and V 5+ ), moderate (W 6+, Ti 4+, Nb 5+, and Ta 5+ ), and weak (Zr 4+ and Hf 4+ ) distorters. We also examined and discussed the directional preference of the distortion for each cation.