Thermal effects in the vicinity of phase transition temperatures in matrix-isolated sodium nitrite NaNO2

Abstract

Thermal effects in some nanoporous silicate matrices (with different pore sizes) loaded with ferroelectric NaNO₂ from both a saturated solution and from a melt have been studied in a wide temperature range including the phase transition temperatures. All the samples reliably demonstrate maxima of the heat capacity, corresponding to first-order ferroelectric phase transitions. The characteristics of the maxima (intensity, half-width, phase transition temperature, etc.) have been determined. A more complex situation is the observation of an incommensurable phase (sinusoidal antiferroelectric), in particular, in the case of pore sizes comparable to the period of an “incommensurable” wave, the manifestation of which can be explained by the appearance of a corresponding orientation of sodium nitrite nanocrystals in pores of these matrices. It is found that the characteristics of above noted effects depend on the prehistory of the samples under study.