Pressure- and temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction studies of NdCrO3

High-temperature and high-pressure X-ray diffraction experiments were conducted on the perovskite NdCrO3. High-temperature measurements were used to investigate the temperature dependence of the crystal structure up to 823 K. The magnitude of the octahedral tilting distortion decreased with an increase in temperature. The pressure dependence of the lattice parameters up to 6.4(2) GPa were determined using a diamond anvil cell and monochromatic synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The a lattice parameters exhibit an unusual elongation with pressure, but there was no indication of a pressure-induced phase transition in the pressure range examined and a least squares fit to the volume–pressure data with a second-order Birch–Murnagahan equation of state yielded a large bulk modulus of 338(20) GPa, making it one of the least compressible perovskite oxides.