We report the synthesis, crystal structure, thermal, dielectric, Raman, infrared, and magnetic properties of hydrogen and deuterated divalent metal formates, [(CH3)2NH2][M(HCOO)3] and [(CH3)2ND2][M(HCOO)3], where M = Ni, Mn. On the basis of Raman and IR data, assignment of the observed modes to respective vibrations of atoms is proposed. The thermal studies show that for the Ni compounds deuteration leads to a decrease of the phase transition temperature Tc by 5.6 K, whereas it has a negligible effect on Tc in the Mn analogues. This behavior excludes the possibility of proton (deuteron) movement along the N-H···O (N-D···O) bonds as the microscopic origin of the first-order phase transition observed in these crystals below 190 K. According to single-crystal X-ray diffraction, the dimethylammonium (DMA) cations are dynamically disordered at room temperature, because the hydrogen bonds between the NH2 (ND2) groups and the metal-formate framework are disordered. The highly dynamic nature of hydrogen bonds in the high-temperature phases manifests in the Raman and IR spectra through very large bandwidth of modes involving vibrations of the NH2 (ND2) groups. The abrupt decrease in the bandwidth and shifts of modes near Tc signifies the ordering of hydrogen bonds and DMA(+) cations as well as significant distortion of the metal-formate framework across the phase transition. However, some amount of motion is retained by the DMA(+) cation in the ferroelectric phase and a complete freezing-in of this motion occurs below 100 K. The dielectric studies reveal pronounced dielectric dispersion that can be attributed to slow dynamics of large DMA(+) cations. The low-temperature studies also show that magnetic properties of the studied compounds can be explained assuming that they are ordered ferrimagnetically with nearly compensated magnetic moments of Ni and Mn. IR data reveal weak anomalies below 40 K that arise due to spin-phonon coupling. Our results also show that due to structural phase transition more significant distortion of the metal-formate framework occurs for the deuterated samples.

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Vibrational properties and the temperature-induced phase transition mechanism have been studied in [NH4][Zn(HCOO)3] and [ND4][Zn(DCOO)3] metal organic frameworks by variable-temperature dielectric, IR, and Raman measurements. DFT calculations allowed proposing the detailed assignment of vibrational modes to respective motions of atoms in the unit cell. Temperature-dependent studies reveal a very weak isotopic effect on the phase transition temperature and confirm that ordering of ammonium cations plays a major role in the mechanism of the phase transition. We also present high-pressure Raman scattering studies on [ND4][Zn(DCOO)3]. The results indicate the rigidity of the formate ions and strong compressibility of the ZnO6 octahedra. They also reveal the onset of a pressure-induced phase transition at about 1.1 GPa. This transition has strong first-order character, and it is associated with a large distortion of the metal formate framework. Our data indicate the presence of at least two nonequivalent formate ions in the high-pressure structure with very different C-D bonds. The decompression experiment shows that the transition is reversible.

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A novel formate [(CH3)2NH2][Na0.5Cr0.5(HCOO)3] (DMNaCr) was prepared by a solvothermal method. This compound crystallizes in the perovskite-type metal formate framework (space group R3[combining macron]) with disordered dimethylammonium (DMA(+)) cations. X-ray diffraction, DSC, Raman and IR studies show that in contrast to the isostructural iron analogue [(CH3)2NH2][Na0.5Fe0.5(HCOO)3] (DMNaFe), DMNaCr does not exhibit any structural phase transition at low temperatures. This behavior has been attributed to the smaller flexibility of the perovskite-like framework in DMNaCr when compared with that of DMNaFe. Dielectric permittivity data reveal pronounced dielectric relaxation that is attributed to the dynamical rotation of DMA(+) ions. Electron absorption and photoluminescence studies show that this material exhibits efficient emission at low temperatures. A detailed analysis of the optical properties shows that chromium ions are located at the site of intermediate crystal field strength with Dq/B = 2.29.

Bi 2 W O 6 ferroelectric single crystal was investigated by micro-Raman scattering and infrared spectroscopies. Symmetry of modes was established and the mode assignment was proposed.

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The temperature-dependent Raman studies of A 2 Ti 2 O 7 (A = Dy, Er, Gd) were performed on single crystals and polycrystalline samples in the 4.2-295 K temperature range. The Raman spectra showed softening of the majority of phonon modes upon cooling in the whole temperature range studied and large decrease of linewidths. These changes have been analyzed in terms of strong third-order phonon-phonon anharmonic interactions. Moreover, the 312 and 330 cm −1 modes of Er 2 Ti 2 O 7 (Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 ) showed hardening upon cooling down to about 130 K (100 K) and then anomalous softening below this temperature. The observed anomalous behavior of the Raman modes indicates that some important changes occur in these materials at low temperatures. However, the origin of this behavior is still not clear.