Pressure-induced octahedral tilting distortion and structural phase transition in columbite structured NiNb2O6

Abstract

High-pressure behavior of the technologically important compound NiNb2O6 adopting a columbite-type orthorhombic structure at ambient pressure and temperature conditions was investigated using synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopic measurements, and first-principles calculations. The x-ray diffraction data indicate the occurrence of irreversible pressure-induced structural phase transition in the studied compound beyond 9 GPa. The high-pressure phase is found to be monoclinic with space group P2/m. The large volume collapse (∼4.4%) at the transition indicates the nature of the transition to be of the first order. There is a change in oxygen anion coordination number around Nb from 6 to 8; however, the coordination number around Ni remains 6. The experimental pressure–volume data when fitted to the Birch−Murnaghan equation of states yield the value of ambient pressure bulk modulus (B0) as 178.7 (17) GPa for the orthorhombic phase and 244 (6) for the high-pressure monoclinic phase. The changes in Raman spectra indicate the distortion of NbO6 octahedra resulting in structural phase transitions. The logarithmic variation of unit cell volume (V) with optical lattice mode frequency (ν) helped us to calculate their respective Grüneisen parameters (γ) and it also supports the instability of the orthorhombic columbite structure of NiNb2O6 beyond 9 GPa, originated due to strong octahedral deformation of NbO6 octahedra. The variation of structural, electronic, and optical properties with pressure has also been discussed through first-principles calculations based on density functional theory using the revised Perdew–Burke–Ernzerh of generalized gradient approximation. The theoretical bandgap collapses and the distortion of NbO6 octahedra through the O chains with pressure are emphasized from the density of states data.