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Abstract: The structural features of the “5M” martensitic phase in Ni2FeGa alloys have been determined by electron diffraction using the multi-slice least-squares (MSLS) method. The results demonstrate that the “5M” phase contains an evident cooperative effect of monoclinic distortion and sinusoidal modulation along the [110] c direction. Theoretical simulations based on our refined data suggest that the “5M” martensitic phase observed in Ni–Fe–Ga and Ni–Mn–Ga has visible common behaviors in both stacking sequence and local structural distortion. Considering the cooperative effect of monoclinic distortion and sinusoidal modulation, we demonstrate that the “7M” martensitic phase could adopt two equivalent structural phases corresponding with the stacking sequences of and , respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations on Nd2/3− x Li3 x TiO3 with x=0.14 reveal a rich variety of structural features in the samples prepared under different conditions, such as superstructures, anti-phase domains, and nano-chessboard structures. Our careful analysis shows that these structural phenomena can be fundamentally understood as the combination of structural effects of (Nd, Li)-ordering along the 〈001〉p direction and the spinodal decomposition along the 〈100〉p/〈010〉p direction. The coexistence of phase separation and cation ordering can lead to visible nano-structural complexities in many crystals, as the typical results, the regular lamella structure, nano-chessboard structures and anti-phase boundaries have been extensively studied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]