Pressure-induced structural phase transition and vacancy filling in titanium monoxide TiO up to 50 GPa

Abstract

Vacancy engineering can effectively modulate the optical and electronic properties of metal oxides. Here, we demonstrate that high-pressure could be a clean strategy to tune the vacancies in oxides with a high cationic vacancy content. By combining in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and charge transport measurements in a diamond anvil cell, we systematically study the structure and electrical properties of TiO with ∼16% ordered vacancies up to 50.2 GPa at room temperature. The monoclinic TiO transforms to the cubic phase at ∼37.8 GPa. After decompression to ambient conditions, the cubic phase survives. The vacancies are partially filled and become disordered with a concentration of approximately 12.5%. The charge transport of TiO at high pressure exhibits a metal-insulator transition, which originates from the ordered to disordered transition of vacancies under pressure. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the vacancies enhance the mobility of atoms in the lattice under pressure and lead to the pressure-induced amorphization and recrystallization.