Temperature-dependent vibrational Raman studies of tetramethylammonium tetrachlorozincate [(TMA)2ZnCl,] arereported together with the assignments of the observed bands in all the six polarization geometries at room temperature in phase I, which i s orthorhombic with a space group D::(Z=4). Existence of the well known incommensurate phase with wave vector k = 2/5 + S in the temperature range 296.6280.9 K is supported by the abnormal intensity behaviour of modes of species A, (under the point group symmetry Td for TMA and ZnCI, ions) in X ( Z Z ) Y and X ( YZ)Y polarization geometries. The observed intensity behaviour could be explained on the assumption that the orientations of TMA and ZnCI, ions are governed by the incommensurate modulation in the 2-direction.
IhTRODUCTIONThe mechanism of commensurate-incommensurate phase transitions is a subject of current experimental and theoretical significance. In an incommensurate phase, wave vector modulation along one or more crystallographic axes takes place on account of changes in lattice parameters due to atomic displacements.' The existence of amplitudons and phasons is a specific feature of an incommensurate phase.2 The phasons can only be detected either by neutron inelastic scattering or by Brillouin scattering3 The soft mode behaviour of the amplitudons in the lattice region during an incommensurate phase transition has been observed earlier by Raman scattering studies.'-, An incommensurate phase between 296.6 and 280.9 K in tetramethylammonium tetrachlorozincate [ (TMA),ZnCl,] has been studied by using several techniques, such as differential thermal a n a l y~i s ,~ x-ray scattering: neutron inelastic scattering: electron spin resonance,' proton magnetic relaxation' and ultrasonic wave propagation." We have presented elsewhere" preliminary results on the abnormal intensity behaviour of internal modes of species A, under point group symmetry Td for TMA ions in the incommensurate phase of (TMA),ZnCl,. In this paper we present the vibrational assignments of the observed bands in all the six polarization geometries at room temperature (phase I) and the effect of the incommensurate structure on the typical internal modes of a single crystal of (TMA),ZnCl,.
EXPERIMENTALSingle crystals of (TMA),ZnCl, were grown by slow evaporation at room temperature from an aqueous solution containing stoichiometric proportion of TMACl and ZnC1,'2 and purified by repeated recrystallization. The crystals were appropriately cut and polished with morphology suggested by Wada et aLi3