Pyrochlore structure characterization

While metal oxides and mixed metal oxides have often been considered for various electrocatalytic applications, they are often limited by low electronic conductivity and/or low surface area. One series of mixed metal oxides with the pyrochlore structure has been discovered ( ) that has demonstrated high catalytic activity for electroreduction and electroevolution of oxygen 2) and the selective electrooxidation of certain organics 3). These materials, which are characterized by high electronic conductivity and can be prepared in high surface area form, are described by the general formula ... 

The compounds characterized by X Me = 3.5 have a common formula of M2Me205F2 and crystallize either in a pyrochlore [192] or a veberite [229] type structure. According to X-ray powder diffraction patterns, the structure of Na2Nb205F2 can be regarded as a super-structure of pyrochlore, which is made up of octahedrons connected in layers and arranged in the (111) direction. The layers are linked via octahedrons so that each octahedron in one layer shares three vertexes with an octahedron in the adjacent layer. 

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