Structural and thermal expansion properties of solid solution Y2−xSmxMo4O15 (x=0.0-0.8)

A new series of rare-earth solid solutions of Y2−xSmxMo4O15 (x=0.0-0.8) with controllable thermal expansion behavior were prepared successfully and studied by X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. All these solid solutions crystallize in a monoclinic space group P21/c. The lattice parameters a, b, and c of Y2−xSmxMo4O15 increase linearly with increasing samarium content. Since no phase transition was observed, the temperature dependence of Mo2-O14 bond distance seems to be responsible for the anomalous thermal behavior.