Negative thermal expansion properties of Cu1.5Mg0.5V2O7

Abstract Cu1.5Mg0.5V2O7 was prepared by a solid state method. Its phase, microstructure, thermal expansion property, and Raman spectra were analyzed in detail. Results show that Cu1.5Mg0.5V2O7 maintains a monoclinic crystal structure and exhibits an excellent linear negative thermal-expansion property with coefficient of thermal expansion of −8.72 × 10−6 K−1 over a wide temperature range of 153–673 K. The mechanism underlying the negative thermal expansion of Cu1.5Mg0.5V2O7 involves the coupling effect of the tetrahedron caused by the lateral vibration of the bridge oxygen atom and the tensile effect of the tetrahedron, The partial collapse caused by the loss of the oxygen atoms also plays an important role in the mechanism.