Reactivity of ZnSb2O6 with ZnTa2O6 and some properties of new limited ZnSb2-xTaxO6 solid solution with tri-rutile structure

•New limited substitutional solid solution ZnSb2-xTaxO6 for 0 < x ≤ 1.6 is formed.•Maximal replacement of Sb5+ by Ta5+ ions reaches at least 80 mol%.•New solid solution has the tri-rutile type structure.•New phase has been studied by DTA–TGA, XRD, IR and UV–vis-DR methods.

The results obtained within this work have shown the formation of a limited substitutional solid solution with tri-rutile type structure and with the general formula ZnSb2-xTaxO6 in the ZnSb2O6–ZnTa2O6 system. In the new solid solution Ta5+ ions are incorporated into the ZnSb2O6 lattice instead of Sb5+. The homogeneity range of the new solid solution is for 0 < x ≤ 1.6. The new phase has been characterized by XRD, DTA–TGA, IR and UV–vis methods and its thermal stability has been determined.