Abstract
The structural behavior of lanthanum metal has been investigated up to 227 GPa using synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Rather than having the rhombohedral or orthorhombic structures previously reported to be stable above 80 GPa, we find that La adopts the tetragonal tI2 structure seen previously in Ce and Pr. We show that the recent claims of a rhombohedral structure arose from the misidentification of lanthanum hydride peaks. The revised pressure dependence of the atomic volume of La above 100 GPa further constrains the stoichiometry of the superconducting LaH10 superhydride, which is synthesized from La above 160 GPa. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
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