I can see how one might arrive at Sc1.5Al0.5W3O12 - but that suggests that one Sc and one Al atom are shared between two of this stuff's molecules.
Anyone an idea why you wouldn't consider that one the molecule, i.e. Sc3AlW6O24?
> Not with this stuff, which the team observed across that huge temperature spectrum demonstrating "only minute changes to the bonds, position of oxygen atoms and rotations of the atom arrangements." The team says the exact mechanism behind this extreme thermal stability isn't totally clear, but that perhaps bond lengths, angles and oxygen atom positions are changing in concert with one another to preserve the overall volume.
[0] - grossly oversimplifying here. Also I was mostly an organic chemist and didn't study metallurgy much.
The article mentions the “bonds” of this substance, but doesn’t use any description more specific than “material” to describe it.
Is this an alloy, or a molecule, or something different?
Scandium, aluminum, and tungsten oxides are all refractory ceramics, so I would reason that their mixed oxide is very similar. But tungsten (IV) oxide is conductive. Shrug, I was an organic chemist.
The bonding structure is shown in the data pdf here[0]. It's a heavily networked orthorhombic lattice and (oof, it's been a hot minute since inorgo class) what looks like lots of coordinate bonds. It's definitely more alloy/ceramic than molecule, which is sort of the GP thread topic, but I can't tell if it's considered an alloy, ceramic, both, or neither.