Order-to-Disorder Transition and Hydrogen Bonding in the Jahn–Teller Active NH4CrF3 Fluoroperovskite

Large quantities of high-purity NH₄CrF₃ have been synthesized using a wet-chemical method, and its structural chemistry and magnetic properties are investigated in detail for the first time. NH₄CrF₃ is a tetragonal fluoroperovskite that displays an ordering of the ammonium (NH₄⁺) groups at room temperature and C-type orbital ordering. The ammonium groups order and display distinct signs of hydrogen bonds to nearby fluoride anions by buckling the Cr-F-Cr angle away from 180°. The ammonium ordering remains up to 405 K, much higher than in other ammonium fluoroperovskites, indicating a correlation between the flexibility of the Jahn-Teller ion, the hydrogen bond formation, and the ammonium ordering. At 405 K, an order-to-disorder transition occurs, where the ammonium groups disorder, corresponding to a transition to higher symmetry. This is accompanied by a contraction of the unit cell from breaking hydrogen bonds, similar to the phenomenon observed in water ice melting. The compound orders antiferromagnetically with a Neél temperature of 60 K, an effective paramagnetic moment of 4.3 μ_B, and a Weiss temperature of -33 K. An A-type antiferromagnetic structure is identified by neutron diffraction, with an ordered moment of 3.72(2) μ_B.