Structural properties and the fluorite-pyrochlore phase transition in La2Zr2O7: The role of oxygen to induce local disordered states

Structural and functional applications involving La2Zr2O7 exploit the data on fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition, because of the strong dependence on the physical properties of the system with its phase stability. Though studied for decades, the origin of fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition in La2Zr2O7 is still not well understood. In this article, we confirm the presence of a fluorite to pyrochlore phase transition in La2Zr2O7 system in the temperature range 1000-1450 degrees C. The phase transition along with the associated structural properties is investigated with the help La2Zr2O7 samples calcined at different temperatures. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.