X-Ray Powder Diffraction Study on the Occupancy of Oxygen Atoms in the YBa2Cu3Ox Compound

The crystal structure of an YBa2Cu3Ox compound prepared under various quenching temperatures has been studied by X-ray powder diffraction techniques. The orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition was observed with increasing quenching temperature. The change of oxygen content was determined by gravimetric measurement. Occupancies of the oxygen atoms sandwiched between Ba-O layers were determined by profile fitting on the weak diffraction peaks of 012 and 102 reflections.