Structure peculiarities and point defects in new sillenite-type (Bi,Sm)24V2O40 crystals

Single-crystal (Bi,Sm)24V2O40 solid solutions with sillenite structure, grown by the hydrothermal method for the first time, have been studied using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, synchrotron radiation, and infrared spectroscopy. The real composition has been refined. The presence of Sm3+ and Bi3+ ions in one crystallographic site was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and confirmed by the analysis of infrared spectra and calculation of the degree of distortion of the real [BiO5] polyhedron.