Theory of structural variation in a quasi-one-dimensional conductor

Abstract

Neutron-scattering studies of the quasi-one-dimensional conductor K2Pt(CN)4Br0.30•H2O demonstrate not only the existence of soft phonon modes but also the coexistence of central peaks and the development of a superlattice on cooling which, however, never becomes a true structural phase transition. We suggest that the central peak is due to bromine-induced, static, platinum-chain distortion and show that it affects the electronic motion sufficiently to create a strong enough fluctuation in the three-dimensional system to remove the expected phase transition. © 1976 The American Physical Society.