Preparation and X-ray characterization of low-temperature phases of R2SiO5 (R = rare earth elements)

Low-temperature phases of R2SiO5 (R = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb) were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns for these new phases were indexed with the monoclinic unit cell, and the unit cell parameters were refined. The structure of Y2SiO5 with the space group P21/c was determined by powder diffraction data.