Abstract
The thermal expansion of quartz-type aluminosilicates, which is very important for their usefulness in ceramics, can be negative or positive, depending on composition. The structures of these phases are generally described as being β-quartz-like, however, an analysis of T-O bond lengths and thermal parameters of the oxygen atoms indicates that in several of these aluminosilicates the local atomic arrangement is α-quartz like and that the structures derived from diffraction data are average structures only. Computer modelling of the structures strongly supports this view. In the α-quartz-like phases there are static atomic displacements from the β-quartz positions that, as in α-quartz itself, become smaller with increasing temperature. This mechanism makes a positive contribution to thermal expansion. In phases where static displacements are absent, only thermal vibrations contribute to thermal expansion. Among these, the vibrations of the oxygen atoms normal to the T-O-T bonding plane are the most important ones and make a negative contribution to thermal expansion which is dominant in β-quartz as well as in some of the aluminosilicate phases like β-eucryptite.
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Sternitzke, M., Müller, G. Crystal structure and thermal expansion of quartz-type aluminosilicates. J Mater Sci 26, 3051–3056 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01124841
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01124841