Rational design of materials with extreme negative compressibility: selective soft-mode frustration in KMn[Ag(CN)2]3.

We show that KMn[Ag(CN)(2)](3) exhibits the strongest negative linear compressibility (NLC) effect over the largest pressure range yet observed. Variable pressure neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal that its crystal lattice expands along the c axis of its trigonal cell under increasing hy...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cairns, AB, Thompson, A, Tucker, MG, Haines, J, Goodwin, A
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2012
Description
Summary:We show that KMn[Ag(CN)(2)](3) exhibits the strongest negative linear compressibility (NLC) effect over the largest pressure range yet observed. Variable pressure neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal that its crystal lattice expands along the c axis of its trigonal cell under increasing hydrostatic pressure, while contracting along the a axis. This corresponds to a "wine-rack"-like mechanism for NLC that we find also results in anisotropic negative thermal expansion (NTE) in the same material. Inclusion of extra-framework K(+) counterions has minimal effect on framework flexibility (and hence the magnitude of NTE/NLC) but selectively frustrates the soft phonon modes responsible for destroying NLC in the related material Ag(3)[Co(CN)(6)].