Temperature-dependent phonon dynamics of Ag3PO4 microcrystals

In this work, we present the study of the temperature-dependent behavior of silver orthophosphate (Ag3PO4) microcrystals using in situ Raman scattering. The Ag3PO4 as-synthesized microcrystals were prepared by the precipitation method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman and infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Temperature-dependent phonon dynamics were performed on Ag3PO4 microcrystals and pointed to a first-order phase transition in the temperature range 500-515 degrees C: Phase I (25-500 degrees C) Phase II -> (515-590 degrees C). The phase transition is reversible and a temperature hysteresis was observed during the heating - cooling process: Phase II (590-470 degrees C) -> Phase I (455-25 degrees C). The reversible phase transition is related to the distortion of the tetrahedral symmetry of PO4 caused by the decrease in the crystalline order. DSC analysis confirmed the results of temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, the temperature-dependent behavior of as-synthesized silver orthophosphate microcrystals was investigated using various characterization techniques, revealing a first-order phase transition in the temperature range of 500-515 degrees C. The reversible phase transition was found to be related to the distortion of the tetrahedral symmetry of PO4 and confirmed by DSC analysis.