A polar oxide ZnSnO3 with a LiNbO3-type structure

A polar oxide ZnSnO3 was synthesized by a solid-state reaction under a pressure of 7 GPa and a temperature of 1000 degrees C. The crystal structure was determined by Rietveld analysis of the X-ray powder diffraction data. ZnSnO3 has a rhombohedral LiNbO3-type structure with unit cell parameters, a = 0.52622(1) nm, c = 1.40026(2) nm (space group: R3c). The polar structure is characterized by the large displacement of Zn along the c-axis in the ZnO6 octahedron based on the strong chemical bonding between Zn and three O. ZnSnO3 is a candidate piezoelectric and pyroelectric material as well as nonlinear optical material.