Unconventional Electron-Deficient Multicenter Bonds in AIO3 Perovskites

ABX3 and BX3 perovskites and their distorted variants are solidstate systems with exceptional properties, which allow them to be used in a plethora of potential technological applications. This notwithstanding, the nature of the chemical B–X bonding, which forms the framework where the A atoms can b...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Osman, Hussien H., Rodrigo-Ramón, José Luis, Ullah, Shafi, Bandiello, Enrico, Errandonea, D., Gomis, Óscar, García-Sánchez, Tania, Botella Vives, Pablo, Oliva Vidal, Robert, Rodríguez-Hernández, Plácida, Muñoz, Alfonso, Popescu, Catalin, Alabarse, F. G., Manjón, F. J.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::6c742e6742025628eb57b3722a9d6e21
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/431555
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Chemical structure
Compression
Crystal structure
Phase transitions
Photovoltaics
Descripción
Sumario:ABX3 and BX3 perovskites and their distorted variants are solidstate systems with exceptional properties, which allow them to be used in a plethora of potential technological applications. This notwithstanding, the nature of the chemical B–X bonding, which forms the framework where the A atoms can be inserted, is still under debate. Through a joint experimental and theoretical study of AIO3 (A = K, Rb, Cs, Tl, NH4) compounds and in particular in cesium iodate (CsIO3) under compression, we show how the IO3– polyanions, present in these compounds at room pressure, undergo a gradual pressure-induced polymerization (PIP) process in three dimensions (3D). This results in a pressure-induced symmetrization of the crystalline structure that leads to a tetragonal perovskite structure, with IO5+1 units, in CsIO3 and eventually to a cubic perovskite, with IO6 units, in other AIO3 compounds. We demonstrate that the PIP process induces a change in the chemical bonding from the resonant delocalized I–O bonds in IO3– polyanions toward the unconventional I–O electron-deficient multicenter bonds (EDMBs) in AIO3 cubic perovskites. The process of EDMB formation in the cubic perovskites agrees with the recently proposed unified theory of multicenter bonding and contradicts previous assumptions that considered these bonds to be impossible in valence electron-rich elements, such as chalcogens and halogens. Interestingly, our results suggest that (i) the formation of the cubic and slightly distorted ABX3 and BX3 perovskites, with A, B, and X being main-group elements, at high pressure is driven by the formation of 3D EDMBs due to the PIP process of the BX3 units (monomers) leading to the formation of regular BX6 units; and (ii) unconventional EDMBs could be already present at room conditions in the cubic or slightly distorted ABX3 and BX3 perovskites, with A, B, and X being main-group elements. The presence of unconventional EDMBs could explain the extraordinary properties of these perovskites.