Phase transition and near-zero thermal expansion in ZrFeMo2VO12

ZrFeMo2VO12 material was successfully synthesized by solid-state method. The structure, phase transformation and thermal expansion of such material were studied by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and thermal dilatometry. It crystallizes in monoclinic structure at room temperature (RT). The monoclinic structure transforms to orthorhombic structure at the temperature between 298 and 312 K. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) was measured by dilatometer to be (0.36±0.02)×10−6 K−1 (401∼573 K) and calculated by XRD data to be (0.68±0.17)×10−6 K−1 (423∼573 K). Both the values of intrinsic (XRD) and extrinsic (dilatometric) thermal expansion are near zero.