Combinatorial modular design of the structures of spinel-type phases

Abstract

A review is presented of studies dealing with spinelloids, i.e., phases with spinel-type structures. Structures of one-dimensional and two-dimensional spinelloids, ordered solid solutions, polytypes, homologues, and hybrid spinelloids (phases with structures that can be constructed using fragments of a spinel or any other structure type) are analyzed in comparison with the spinel structure. The spinelloid structures are calculated using the developed combinatorial modular design method. It is revealed that the constructed modular spinelloid structures are in reasonable agreement with those described in the literature. The proposed crystal chemical description of the modular structures of spinelloids (composition, symmetry, relative sizes of unit cells, and the number of formula units in the unit cell) can be used to identify new phases with spinel-type structures. The results of the combinatorial modular design provide the basis for the controlled search for new spinelloids with a specified set of physical and physicochemical properties.