Electron density and atomic displacements in KTaO3

The atomic interactions and anharmonicity of atomic displacements in the virtual ferroelectric KTaO3, potassium tantalate, have been studied using accurate single-crystal X-ray diffraction at room temperature. The multipole analysis of electron density and Gram-Charlier series description of anharmonic atomic displacements allowed us to perform a quantitative analysis of the chemical bonding and atomic motion in this crystal. Closed-shell interactions between Ta-O and K-O pairs of atoms were found, while no interaction was observed for the Ta-K and O-O atomic pairs. The character of the anharmonic atomic displacements is discussed and compared with those in SrTiO3.