RutileStruktur

RutileStruktur, or rutile-type structure, is a tetragonal crystal structure widely used to describe the arrangement of metal and oxygen atoms in many metal dioxides MO2, notably TiO2 in its rutile form. It belongs to the tetragonal crystal system and is described by the space group P4_2/mnm (No. 136). For TiO2 in rutile form, typical room-temperature lattice parameters are about a = 4.593 Å and c = 2.959 Å. In this structure, the metal cation sits in a sixfold oxygen coordination, forming distorted MO6 octahedra; each oxygen is bonded to three metal atoms.

The octahedra share edges along the c axis, creating chains of octahedra that extend in that direction, while corner-sharing links between chains propagate the three-dimensional network in the a–b plane. The arrangement results in a characteristic three-dimensional framework with anisotropic properties and specific coordination environments.

Rutile-type is a common structural motif for many MO2 compounds, including GeO2, SnO2, and RuO2, and it serves as a prototype for the rutile family of materials. It is relevant in a range of applications, such as catalysis, optics, and pigments, due to the robust oxide framework, chemical stability, and optical properties of the structure.

Phase behavior: Some materials can exhibit pressure- or temperature-induced transitions to related structures. For TiO2, transitions between rutile and other polymorphs (such as anatase and brookite) can occur under certain conditions, reflecting the flexibility of the rutile-type framework.