Melting behavior of levitated Y2O3

The yttrium environment in liquid Y2O3 at 2770 K has been measured with anomalous x-ray scattering, aerodynamic levitation, and laser heating. The Y-O coordination of 6-7 and the Y-Y coordination of around 12 imply that the close packing of the high-temperature (H-type) solid phase is preserved on melting, in contrast to the large structural changes exhibited by Al2O3. The unusually sharp main diffraction peak implies a high degree of chemical order and mirrors the diffraction pattern of the H-type phase. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.