STRUCTURAL MODELING IN THE MO-BI-O SYSTEM

A new approach is proposed for the structural study of inorganic compounds based on the search of the common features detectable in the cation sublattice distribution and applied to the Mo-Bi-O ternary system. In the diffraction patterns of these materials, as well as in many other ternary systems of bismuth oxide, a common feature is found in the presence of the strong reflection at about 2 theta = 28 degrees (d = 3.2 Angstrom). Analogies and differences in the planes corresponding to this distance, which show a hexagonal net composed of Bi and Mo ions and, in some cases, structural vacancies, are discussed including also preliminary remarks on the possible effects of metal-metal interactions. The position of oxygen atoms with respect to the metal layers is also discussed in order to point out the structural features which allow the application of these materials as catalysts or gas sensors. (C) 1995 academic Press, Inc.