Structural, optical, and electronic properties of Gd2TiO5

Abstract

Rare-earth titanates exhibit unique structural, physical, and optical properties, making them highly suitable for applications in the nuclear and radiation industries [1–2]. These materials are known for their high mechanical strength, as well as their excellent chemical and temperature resistance, which makes them effective in environments with high radiation flux, such as energy and nuclear settings [3]. This group of materials includes lanthanide perovskites (LnTiO3), pyrochlore-related structures (Ln2Ti2O7), and Ln4Ti9O24 compositions (where Ln is a lanthanide element from La to Lu) [4, 5]. A particularly interesting member of this class is Ln2TiO5, in which the Ti atom adopts a rare five-fold coordination geometry, a geometry rarely observed in most titanium-based transition metal oxides [4]. Most titanium-based oxides are found to exist in four-fold or six-fold coordination, possessing tetrahedral and octahedral geometries, and a significant amount of work in this regard has been done on perovskite (LnTiO3) and pyrochlore (Ln2Ti2O7) type structures.