Phys.org June 14, 2021
Researchers in Australia have demonstrated that the zero thermal expansion material made of scandium, aluminum, tungsten, and oxygen did not change in volume from 4 to 1400 Kelvin (-269 to 1126 °Celsius). They confirmed the structural stability of Sc1.5Al0.5W3O12 with only minute changes to the bonds, position of oxygen atoms and rotations of the atom arrangements which appear to be undertaken cooperatively. The crystallographic data from the diffraction experiments reflects the combination of subtle but observable distortions of the polyhedral units, bond lengths, angles and oxygen atoms that allow the material to absorb temperature changes. It is not clear if one or all these contributing factors are responsible for the stability over a range of temperatures, and they are investigating further to try and isolate the mechanism. Zero thermal expansion (ZTE) is a rare physical property; however, if accessible, these ZTE or near ZTE materials can be widely applied in electronic devices and aerospace engineering in addition to being of significant fundamental interest…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
