Redetermination of EuScO3

Single crystals of europium(III) scandate(III), with ideal formula EuScO3, were grown from the melt using the micropulling-down method. The title compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic distorted perovskite-type structure, where Eu occupies the eightfold coordinated A sites (site symmetry m) and Sc resides on the centres of corner-sharing [ScO6] octahedra (B sites with site symmetry 1). The structure of EuScO3 has been reported previously based on powder diffraction data [Liferovich & Mitchell (2004). J. Solid State Chem. 177, 2188-2197]. The results of the current redetermination based on single-crystal diffraction data shows an improvement in the precision of the structral and geometric parameters and reveals a defect-type structure. Site-occupancy refinements indicate an Eu deficiency on the A site coupled with O defects on one of the two O-atom positions. The crystallochemical formula of the investigated sample may thus be written as (A)(square Eu-0.032(0.968))(ScO2.952)-Sc-B.