Neutron diffraction study of the structure and phase transitions of alkali cyanide crystals

Abstract

The structures of sodium and potassium cyanide have been studied by neutron powder diffraction as a function of temperature between 6 and 300 K. The orientation of the CN ions in the lowest temperature phase has been established, and the mechanism of the order–disorder phase transitions has been elucidated by a careful study of a superlattice line intensity in KCN.