High-Pressure Synthesis and Structural Instability of A-Site-Ordered Quadruple Perovskite LaHg <sub>3</sub> Ti <sub>4</sub> O <sub> 12 <b>+</b> δ </sub>

PbHg<sub>3</sub>Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12</sub> (PHTO) represents the first example of ferroelectricity in quadruple A-site-ordered perovskites AA'<sub>3</sub>B<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12</sub>, which features Hg<sup>2+</sup> ions in an unusual 8-fold coordination at the A'-site, forming a structural bridge between simple perovskites and conventional A-site-ordered perovskites. Here, we engineer the A-site charge and lone-pair activity by substituting La<sup>3+</sup> for Pb<sup>2+</sup>, and synthesize a new A-site-ordered perovskite LaHg<sub>3</sub>Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12+δ</sub> (LHTO) under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. LHTO crystallizes in the centrosymmetric <i>Im</i>3̅ structure at room temperature and is isostructural with PHTO, retaining the 8-fold coordination of the Hg<sup>2+</sup> ions. Structural and dielectric characterizations, and first-principles calculations, show a structural instability around 90 K driven by phonon soft modes dominated by Ti-O vibration and the weakening of lone pair, which prevents the development of long-range ferroelectric order. Our results establish a dual A-site design strategy─tuning both lone-pair activity and electron doping─for controlling ferroelectricity in A-site-ordered quadruple perovskites and uncover a competing instability characteristic of this intermediate-coordination regime.

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Journal
Inorganic Chemistry
Published
2026-03-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c06049
Primary Topic
Microwave Dielectric Ceramics Synthesis
Type
article
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article

High-Pressure Synthesis and Structural Instability of A-Site-Ordered Quadruple Perovskite LaHg 3 Ti 4 O 12 + δ

Youwen Long, Chun-Fu Chang, Dongdong Zhang, Ning Sun et al.
Inorganic Chemistry
Microwave Dielectric Ceramics Synthesis
article

High-Pressure Synthesis and Structural Instability of A-Site-Ordered Quadruple Perovskite LaHg 3 Ti 4 O 12 + δ

Youwen Long, Chun-Fu Chang, Dongdong Zhang, Ning Sun, Z. W. Pan, L. Lian, Z. Hu, Xubin Ye, Changqing Jin, Huiyang Gou, Qingyang Hu, Runze Yu, Jun Deng, Yuling Dai, Jianfa Zhao
article en

Abstract

PbHg<sub>3</sub>Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12</sub> (PHTO) represents the first example of ferroelectricity in quadruple A-site-ordered perovskites AA'<sub>3</sub>B<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12</sub>, which features Hg<sup>2+</sup> ions in an unusual 8-fold coordination at the A'-site, forming a structural bridge between simple perovskites and conventional A-site-ordered perovskites. Here, we engineer the A-site charge and lone-pair activity by substituting La<sup>3+</sup> for Pb<sup>2+</sup>, and synthesize a new A-site-ordered perovskite LaHg<sub>3</sub>Ti<sub>4</sub>O<sub>12+δ</sub> (LHTO) under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions. LHTO crystallizes in the centrosymmetric <i>Im</i>3̅ structure at room temperature and is isostructural with PHTO, retaining the 8-fold coordination of the Hg<sup>2+</sup> ions. Structural and dielectric characterizations, and first-principles calculations, show a structural instability around 90 K driven by phonon soft modes dominated by Ti-O vibration and the weakening of lone pair, which prevents the development of long-range ferroelectric order. Our results establish a dual A-site design strategy─tuning both lone-pair activity and electron doping─for controlling ferroelectricity in A-site-ordered quadruple perovskites and uncover a competing instability characteristic of this intermediate-coordination regime.

Inorganic ChemistryVol. 65(10)
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (DE), Applied Photonics (United Kingdom) (GB), FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ), Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (CN)
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Microwave Dielectric Ceramics Synthesis
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