Structural studies of alfa-Bl2O3 by neutron powder diffraction

A detailed neutron powder diffraction study of the atomic structure of alfa-Bi2O3 at high temperatures using the Rietveld method was performed to clarify the nature of the unusual magnetic behavior and the origin of the high temperature dielectric anomalies of alfa-Bi2O3 in the temperature interval 300-700 K. Analysis of obtained experimental data shows that there are no evidence of a structural phase transition in alfa-Bi2O3 between 295 and 660 K. The observed high temperature dielectric anomalies in alfa-Bi2O3 are evidently governed by changes in the electron subsystem of the bismuth oxide.