The structural phase transition in titanite near 500 K (averaged symmetries A2/a→P21/a) and a second anomaly around 900 K have been studied using infrared spectroscopy on single crystals aqnd powder samples, measurements of the dielectric properties and the specific heat. The same synthetic single crystal was used in all experiments.
The phase transition near 500 K is associated with a break in the temperature evolution of phonon frequencies and absorption intensities. Some phonon signals decrease rapidly under further heating and their extrapolated intensities disappear at ca. 850 K. The most dominant temperature effect relates to Ti-O phonons with amplitudes along the crystallographic a axis. These phonons show large LO-To splitting and continue to soften under heating even at temperatures above the transitions point (ca. 500 K).
The softening of these modes correlates directly with the increase of the real part of the dielectric constant with a well-pronounced anomaly at 500 K. The dielectric losses also increse with increasing temperature. Measurements under strong field do not show antiferroelectricity. The transition at 500 K generates a small but sharp λ-anomaly in the excess specific heat. A second, weaker anomaly was found near 850 K. The results are discussed in terms of thermodynamic models.