The incommensurate structure of K3InPO42
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Updated: Sep 27, 2026
Quantitative Atomic-Site Analysis of Functional Dopants/Point Defects in Crystalline Materials by Electron-Channeling-Enhanced Microanalysis
Published on: May 10, 2021
Alla Arakcheeva1, Gervais Chapuis, Vaclav Petrícek
1Université de Lausanne, Institut de Cristallographie, BSP Dorigny, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The incommensurately modulated structure of K(3)In(PO(4))(2) has been solved and refined. The origin of the modulation relates to the ordering of K cations within the hexagonal close packing of the PO(4) anions. The driving forces for the modulation of the other cations are In-P and K-P interactions. The modulation of O atoms of rigid PO(4) units follows the cations in order to stabilize the InO(6) octahedron. It is shown that the previously published three-dimensional structure refined from powder diffraction data obtained at room temperature is an average structure. Therefore the incommensurately modulated phase of K(3)In(PO(4))(2) is the only one that has been unequivocally identified at room temperature. The origin of the modulation is discussed in comparison with the structures of Na(3)InP(2), alpha- and beta-Na(3)In(PO(4))(2), Na(3)Fe(PO(4))(2) and Rb(3)In(PO(4))(2).
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