High-pressure Transition Research Articles

Pressure-induced electronic and isostructural phase transitions in PdPS: Raman, x-ray, and first-principles study

Application of pressure is known to be an effective tool for tuning structural and electronic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides. In this work we present evolution of PdPS with pressure using Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 26 GPa, complemented with first-principles theoretical analysis of PdPS under pressure up to 36 GPa. Raman spectra reveal changes in the pressure derivatives of Raman frequencies at P�2, 11, and 21 GPa, suggesting three isostructural electronic phase transitions in PdPS. The pressure-dependent x-ray diffraction shows a sudden rise in the bulk modulus from 90±3 to 123±7 GPa occurring at P�11 GPa. Using first-principles density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that the low-pressure phase transitions are associated with changes in direct band gap at I� point while the high-pressure (at P=21 GPa) transition is associated with semiconductor to semimetal transition. From analysis of PdPS at higher pressures, we predict a structural phase transition in PdPS at P�32 GPa from orthorhombic to monoclinic structure.

Ultrahigh-pressure isostructural electronic transitions in hydrogen.

High-pressure transitions are thought to modify hydrogen molecules to a molecular metallic solid and finally to an atomic metal1, which is predicted to have exotic physical properties and the topology of a two-component (electron and proton) superconducting superfluid condensate2,3. Therefore, understanding such transitions remains an important objective in condensed matter physics4,5. However, measurements of the crystal structure of solid hydrogen, which provides crucial information about the metallization of hydrogen under compression, are lacking for most high-pressure phases, owing to the considerable technical challenges involved in X-ray and neutron diffraction measurements under extreme conditions. Here we present a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of solid hydrogen at pressures of up to 254 gigapascals that reveals the crystallographic nature of the transitions from phase I to phases III and IV. Under compression, hydrogen molecules remain in the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) crystal lattice structure, accompanied by a monotonic increase in anisotropy. In addition, the pressure-dependent decrease of the unit cell volume exhibits a slope change when entering phase IV, suggesting a second-order isostructural phase transition. Our results indicate that the precursor to the exotic two-component atomic hydrogen may consist of electronic transitions caused by a highly distorted hcp Brillouin zone and molecular-symmetry breaking.

High-pressure topotactic transition of layered CsCoO2 to stuffed cristobalite form

High-pressure topotactic transition of layered CsCoO₂ to stuffed cristobalite form

New insights on the GeSexTe1-x phase diagram from theory and experiment.

The high-pressure and low-temperature behaviour of the GeSexTe1-x system (x= 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.75, 1) was studied using a combination of powder diffraction measurements and first-principles calculations. Compounds in the stability field of the GeTe structure type (x = 0, 0.2, 0.5) follow the high-pressure transition pathway: GeTe-I (R3m) → GeTe-II (f.c.c.) → GeTe-III (Pnma). The newly determined GeTe-III structure is isostructural to β-GeSe, a high-pressure and high-temperature polymorph of GeSe. Pressure-dependent formation enthalpies and stability regimes of the GeSexTe1-x polymorphs were studied by DFT calculations. Hexagonal Ge4Se3Te is stable up to at least 25 GPa. Significant differences in the high-pressure and low-temperature behaviour of the GeTe-type structures and the hexagonal phase are highlighted. The role of Ge...Ge interactions is elucidated using the crystal orbital Hamilton population method. Finally, a sketch of the high-pressure phase diagram of the system is provided.

Exploration of high-pressure structural transition and electronic properties of BaFe2S3

The iron-based compound BaFe2S3 has received considerable attention in recent years due to its unique electronic properties with important applications. But, there has been relatively little attention devoted to the structure evolution of BaFe2S3 under high pressure. Here, we report a detailed theoretical study of the structural, electronic and sound velocity properties of BaFe2S3 under high pressure by CALYPSO structure search method in combination with the first-principles calculations. We have uncovered three novel structures of BaFe2S3 under high pressure with space group P2221, Imm2, and C2/m symmetries. Theoretical calculations reveal that the structures of BaFe2S3 under high pressure satisfy the phase transition sequence of Cmcm → P2221 → Imm2 → C2/m, and the corresponding transition pressures are 31.6, 47.4 and 57.0 GPa, respectively. Our results enrich the high pressure phases of BaFe2S3 and will stimulate future experiments to synthesize these new phases.

Pressure-tunable photonic band gaps in an entropic colloidal crystal

Materials adopting the diamond structure possess useful properties in atomic and colloidal systems, and are a popular target for synthesis in colloids where a photonic band gap is possible. The desirable photonic properties of the diamond structure pose an interesting opportunity for reconfigurable matter: can we create a colloidal crystal able to switch reversibly to and from the diamond structure? Drawing inspiration from high-pressure transitions of diamond-forming atomic systems, we design a system of polyhedrally-shaped particles that transitions from diamond to a tetragonal diamond derivative upon a small pressure change. The transition can alternatively be triggered by changing the shape of the particle in-situ. We propose that the transition provides a reversible reconfiguration process for a potential new colloidal material, and draw parallels between this transition and phase behavior of the atomic transitions from which we take inspiration.

DFT study of the electronic properties and the cubic to tetragonal phase transition in RbCaF3

The structural, elastic, vibrational, and electronic properties of ${\mathrm{RbCaF}}_{3}$ in the cubic and low-temperature tetragonal phases have been studied at the ab initio level with density functional theory. Using various exchange-correlation functionals of the generalized gradient approximation for structural properties like the ${\mathrm{CaF}}_{6}$ octahedron rotational angle or ratio $c/a$ of the tetragonal lattice constants, it is found that the best agreement with experiment is obtained with the PBEsol and Wu and Cohen (WC) functionals. The fundamental band gap is calculated to be direct and indirect in the tetragonal and cubic phases, respectively. The relation between the cubic and tetragonal phases is studied by monitoring the cubic zone boundary soft mode phonon ${R}_{{15}^{\ensuremath{'}}}$ as well as the $c/a$ ratio and tilt angle. The results for the Born effective charge tensors are also reported in order to study the effect of the long-range Coulomb interactions. We also investigated the corresponding pressure driven phase transition at $T=0\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, which we observe to be of second order in contrast to the first-order character experimentally detected for the structurally similar high pressure transition at ambient temperature. Based on recently developed finite strain Landau theory, we offer a possible explanation for this peculiar change of character.

Kinetic modeling for unimolecular β-scission of the methoxymethyl radical from quantum chemical and RRKM analyses

Unimolecular β-scission of the methoxymethyl (CH3OCH2) radical has been considered to be the crucial chain-propagating step in both oxidation and pyrolysis of dimethyl ether. The present work employs hybrid density functionals M06-2X, BB1K, B3LYP, and MPW1K with the MG3S basis set as well as double-hybrid density functional B2PLYP and Moller-Plesset perturbation theory MP2 with the TZVP basis set to study the detailed mechanism of unimolecular decomposition of CH3OCH2. Energies of all stationary points are refined with the CCSD(T), QCISD(T), CBS-QB3, and G4 calculations. The minimum energy path was computed at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-PVTZ//M062X/MG3S level. Kinetic calculations are performed by means of high-pressure multi-structural canonical variational transition state (MS-CVT) theory and pressure-dependent Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theory to clarify the available experimental observations and previous theoretical results. A kinetic model for the low and the high-pressure limiting, and falloff region was extracted. For high pressure limit, k∞ = 2.08 × 1012 (T/300)1.002 exp(–11097.64/T) s−1 at temperatures of 200–2600 K based on the MS-CVT/SCT method. Furthermore, the intermediate falloff curve was found to be best represented by k/k∞=[x/(1+x)]Fcent1/[1+(a+logx)2/(N±ΔN)2] with x = k0/k∞, a = 0.263, N = 1.208, ΔN = 0.096, (+ΔN for (a + logx) < 0 and –ΔN for (a + logx) > 0), and Fcent(DME) = 0.348 independent of temperature. The low and high pressure limiting rate constants have been extracted by extrapolation of the fall-off curves: k0 = [DME] 2.49 × 1016 (T/300)0.053 exp(–9067.58/T) cm3 mol–1 s–1 and k∞ = 1.88 × 1012 (T/300)1.05 exp(–11061.79/T) s−1 at temperatures of 450–800 K, which agree well with the reported experimental low and high pressure limit results.

Molecular simulation of capillary phase transitions in flexible porous materials.

We used flat-histogram sampling Monte Carlo to study capillary phase transitions in deformable adsorbent materials. Specifically, we considered a pure adsorbate fluid below its bulk critical temperature within a slit pore of variable pore width. The instantaneous pore width is dictated by a number of factors, such as adsorbate loading, reservoir pressure, fluid-wall interaction, and bare adsorbent properties. In the slit pores studied here, the bare adsorbent free energy was assumed to be biparabolic, consisting of two preferential pore configurations, namely, the narrow pore and the large pore configurations. Four distinct phases could be found in the adsorption isotherms. We found a low-pressure phase transition, driven primarily by capillary condensation/evaporation and accompanied by adsorbent deformation in response. The deformation can be a relatively small contraction/expansion as seen in elastic materials, or a large-scale structural transformation of the adsorbent. We also found a high-pressure transition driven by excluded volume effects, which tends to expand the material and thus results in a large-scale structural transformation of the adsorbent. The adsorption isotherms and osmotic free energies can be rationalized by considering the relative free energy differences between the basins of the bare adsorbent free energy.

High-pressure insulator-to-metal transition in Sr3Ir2O7 studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

High-pressure x-ray absorption spectroscopy was performed at the Ir $L_3$ and $L_2$ absorption edges of Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$. The branching ratio of white line intensities continuously decreases with pressure, reflecting a reduction in the angular part of the expectation value of the spin-orbit coupling operator, $\left\langle {\bf L} \cdot {\bf S} \right\rangle$. Up to the high-pressure structural transition at 53 GPa, this behavior can be explained within a single-ion model, where pressure increases the strength of the cubic crystal field, which suppresses the spin-orbit induced hybridization of $J_{\text{eff}} = 3/2$ and $e_g$ levels. We observe a further reduction of the branching ratio above the structural transition, which cannot be explained within a single-ion model of spin-orbit coupling and cubic crystal fields. This change in $\left\langle {\bf L} \cdot {\bf S} \right\rangle$ in the high-pressure, metallic phase of Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$ could arise from non-cubic crystal fields or a bandwidth-driven hybridization of $J_{\text{eff}}=1/2,\,3/2$ states, and suggests that the electronic ground state significantly deviates from the $J_{\text{eff}}=1/2$ limit.

High-pressure phase diagram, structural transitions, and persistent nonmetallicity of BaBiO3 : Theory and experiment

${\mathrm{BaBiO}}_{3}$ is a mixed-valence perovskite, which escapes the metallic state through a Bi valence (and Bi-O bond) disproportionation or CDW distortion, resulting in a semiconductor with a gap of 0.8 eV at zero pressure. The evolution of structural and electronic properties at high pressure is, however, largely unknown. Pressure, one might have hoped, could reduce the disproportionation, making the two Bi ions equivalent and bringing the system closer to metallicity or even to superconductivity, such as is attained at ambient pressure upon metal doping. We address the high-pressure phase diagram of pristine ${\mathrm{BaBiO}}_{3}$ by ab initio DFT calculations based on GGA and hybrid functionals in combination with crystal structure prediction methods based on evolutionary algorithms, molecular dynamics, and metadynamics. The calculated phase diagram from 0 to 50 GPa indicates that pristine ${\mathrm{BaBiO}}_{3}$ resists metallization under pressure, undergoing instead at room temperature structural phase transitions from monoclinic I2/m to nearly tetragonal P-1 at 7 GPa, possibly to monoclinic C2/m at 27 GPa, and to triclinic P1 at 43 GPa. Remarkably, all these phases sustain and in fact increase the inequivalence of two Bi neighboring sites and of their Bi-O bonds and, in all cases except semimetallic C2/m, the associated insulating character. We then present high-pressure resistivity data, which generally corroborate these results, and show that the insulating character persists at least up to 80 GPa, suggesting that the C2/m phase is probably an artifact of the small computational cell.

Conformational adjustment for high-pressure glass formation of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate.

The conformational stability of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Cnmim][BF4], n = 3-8) under high pressure was investigated using Raman spectroscopy to reveal the preferential role of the alkyl-chain length (n) in high-pressure glass transition. To evaluate this, we determined the intensity ratio (r) and differences in the partial molar volume (ΔVtrans→gauche) between the whole trans and gauche conformers of the [Cnmim] cation using Raman intensities. Interestingly, both values were classified into a two alkyl-chain length region at the border of n = 5. The coulombic interaction (cation-anion interaction) for the conformational stability is the predominant factor below n = 5 (the cation-head portion: alkyl carbon number C < 5), and the alkyl-chain packing effect (cation-cation interaction) is the predominant factor above n = 5 (the cation-tail portion: C > 5). In combination with the conformational preference of the [Cnmim] cation under a high-pressure glassy state, the alkyl chain displays a preferential role, i.e., an increase in the gauche conformer of [Cnmim][BF4] adjusts to avoid crystallization (the conformational adjustment effect). In the presence of the coulombic interaction, the preferential role of the flexible alkyl chain is an important key to elucidate the mechanism of the complicated high-pressure phase transition behavior of ionic liquids.

High-Pressure Transition of Fe2+ From Low- to High-Spin Electronic State in Siderite: Optical Absorption Study

High-Pressure Transition of Fe2+ From Low- to High-Spin Electronic State in Siderite: Optical Absorption Study

Hydrostatic Compression Behavior and High-Pressure Stabilized β-Phase in γ-Based Titanium Aluminide Intermetallics

Titanium aluminides find application in modern light-weight, high-temperature turbines, such as aircraft engines, but suffer from poor plasticity during manufacturing and processing. Huge forging presses enable materials processing in the 10-GPa range, and hence, it is necessary to investigate the phase diagrams of candidate materials under these extreme conditions. Here, we report on an in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction study in a large-volume press of a modern (α2 + γ) two-phase material, Ti-45Al-7.5Nb-0.25C, under pressures up to 9.6 GPa and temperatures up to 1686 K. At room temperature, the volume response to pressure is accommodated by the transformation γ → α2, rather than volumetric strain, expressed by the apparently high bulk moduli of both constituent phases. Crystallographic aspects, specifically lattice strain and atomic order, are discussed in detail. It is interesting to note that this transformation takes place despite an increase in atomic volume, which is due to the high ordering energy of γ. Upon heating under high pressure, both the eutectoid and γ-solvus transition temperatures are elevated, and a third, cubic β-phase is stabilized above 1350 K. Earlier research has shown that this β-phase is very ductile during plastic deformation, essential in near-conventional forging processes. Here, we were able to identify an ideal processing window for near-conventional forging, while the presence of the detrimental β-phase is not present under operating conditions. Novel processing routes can be defined from these findings.

Fluorine partitioning between eclogitic garnet, clinopyroxene, and melt at upper mantle conditions

In this experimental study we obtained new mineral/melt (DF=cmineral/cmelt) partitioning data for fluorine in a bimineralic hydrous eclogite under Earth's upper mantle conditions (4–6GPa, 1460–1550°C). Omphacitic clinopyroxene displays mineral/melt partition coefficients between DF=0.056±0.005 and DF=0.074±0.001. Garnet partition coefficients are consistently lower with an average partition coefficient of DF=0.016±0.003. We found that omphacitic clinopyroxene is the dominant nominally fluorine-free phase in subducted oceanic crust and hence omphacite is expected to be the major fluorine carrier during subduction of crust into the deeper mantle. Together with previously obtained partitioning data we propose that the oceanic crust can host more fluorine per mass unit than the underlying depleted oceanic mantle.If the majority of entrained fluorine is recycled into Earth's transition zone it is possible that the fluorine is either incorporated into high-pressure transition zone phases or released during high-pressure phase transformations and forming fluorine-rich small degree partial melts. Both scenarios are supported by elevated fluorine concentration in ocean island basalts, kimberlites, and lamproites.Combining the fluorine partitioning data with water partitioning data yields a plausible process to generate lamproitic magmas with a high F/H2O ratio. The enrichment of fluorine relative to H2O is triggered by multiple episodes of small degree melting that deplete the residual more in H2O than in fluorine, caused by the approximately three times smaller mineral-melt partition coefficients of H2O.

Structural distortions in the high-pressure polar phases of ammonium metal formates

The high-pressure behaviour of ammonium metal formates has been investigated using high-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction on ammonium iron and nickel formates, and neutron powder diffraction on ammonium zinc formate in the pressure range of 0–2.3 GPa. A structural phase transition in the pressure range of 0.4–1.4 GPa, depending on the metal cation, is observed for all three ammonium metal formates. The hexagonal-to-monoclinic high-pressure transition gives rise to characteristic sixfold twinning based on the single-crystal diffraction data. Structure solution of the single-crystal data and refinement of the neutron powder diffraction characterise the pressure-induced distortions of the metal formate frameworks. The pressure dependence of the principal axes shows significantly larger anisotropic compressibilities in the high-pressure monoclinic phase (K1 = 48 TPa−1, K3 = −7 TPa−1) compared to the ambient hexagonal phase (K1 = 16 TPa−1, K3 = −2 TPa−1), and can be related to the symmetry-breaking distortions that cause deformation of the honeycomb motifs in the metal formate framework. While high-pressure Raman spectroscopy suggests that the ammonium cations remain dynamically disordered upon the phase transition, the pressure-induced distortions in the metal formate framework cause polar displacements in the ammonium cations. The magnitude of polarisation in the high-pressure phase of ammonium zinc formate was calculated based upon the offset of the ammonium cation relative to the anionic zinc formate framework, showing an enhanced polarisation of Ps ∼ 4 μC cm−2 at the transition, which then decreases with increasing pressure.

Effects of vacancy point defects and phase transitions on optical properties of shocked Al2O3

The velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) and pyrometric measurements in dynamic highpressure experiments require the use of an optical window, and Alumina (Al2O3) or sapphires is often considered as a window material due to its high shock impedance and excellent transparency. Consequently, understanding the characteristics of its transparency and refractive index change under shock loading is crucial for explaining such experimental data. Experimental studies indicate optical transparency loss in shocked Al2O3. The mechanisms for the phenomenon are some interesting issues. A first-principles study suggests that shock-induced VO+2 (the +2 charged O vacancy) defects in Al2O3 could be an important factor causing the transparency loss. Recently, the red shift of the extinction curve (i.e., the wavelength dependence of the extinction coefficient) with increasing shock pressure has been observed. It is needed to ascertain whether this behavior is also related to shock-induced vacancy point defects. In addition, up to now, information about Al2O3 refractive index at a wavelength of 532 nm under strong shock compression (the optical source wavelength in VISAR measurement is usually set at 532 nm) has been unknown, and neither the effects of structural transitions nor vacancy point defects on the refractive index of shocked Al2O3 are determined. Here, to investigate the above-mentioned questions, we perform first principles calculations of optical absorption and refractive index properties of Al2O3 crystal without and with VO+2 and VAl3 (the -3 charged Al vacancy) defects in a pressure range of 180 GPa (the calculations in CASTEP are carried out by the plane-wave pseudo potential method in the framework of the density functional theory). Our absorption data show that the observed optical extinction in shocked Al2O3 cannot be explained by only considering pressure and temperature factors, but shock-induced VO+2 should be an important source for this behavior. On the basis of these results, we may judge that 1) the transparency loss explanation for shocked Al2O3 in the view of vacancy point defects is reasonable; 2) the absorption extinction should dominate the extinction phenomenon observed in shocked Al2O3. Our calculations find that high-pressure structural transition in Al2O3 causes an obvious enhancement of its refractive index. The refractive index decreases with increasing shock pressure in corundum and Rh2O3 regions, and decreases slightly below 172 GPa and increases slowly above 172 GPa with increasing shock pressure in CalrO3 region. The VO+2 and VAl3 defects in Al2O3 have apparent influences on the shock pressure dependence of its refractive index. These results mean that the information about Al2O3 refractive index under strong shock loading cannot be obtained simply by extrapolating its low pressure data. Our prediction could be of importance for future experimental study and new window-material development.

Elastic and thermodynamical properties of cubic (3C) silicon carbide under high pressure and high temperature

Pressure-dependent first-order phase transition, mechanical, elastic, and thermodynamical properties of cubic zinc blende to rock-salt structures in 3C silicon carbide (SiC) are presented. An effective interatomic interaction potential for SiC is formulated. The potential for SiC incorporates long-range Coulomb, charge transfer interactions, covalency effect, Hafemeister and Flygare type short-range overlap repulsion extended up to the second-neighbour ions, van der Waals interactions and zero point energy effects. The developed potential including many body non-central forces validates the Cauchy discrepancy successfully to explain the high-pressure structural transition, and associated volume collapse. The 3C SiC ceramics lattice infers mechanical stiffening, thermal softening, and ductile (brittle) nature from the pressure (temperature) dependent elastic constants behaviour. To our knowledge, these are the first quantitative theoretical predictions of the pressure and temperature dependence of mechanical and thermodynamical properties explicitly the mechanical stiffening, thermally softening, and brittle/ductile nature of 3C SiC and still awaits experimental confirmations.

Cascade of High-Pressure Transitions of Claudetite II and the First Polar Phase of Arsenic(III) Oxide

Claudetite II, one of the three known As2O3 polymorphs, has been studied by single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction up to 21 GPa. Three new As2O3 polymorphs, all structurally related to claudetite II, are formed through a sequence of single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transitions: the ambient pressure claudetite IIα (monoclinic space group P21/n, Z = 4) transforms at 2 GPa continuously to phase IIα′ (P21/a, Z = 8), at 6 GPa to phase IIα″ (P21/a, Z = 24), and at 11 GPa it transforms discontinuously to phase IIβ (P21, Z = 4). The experimentally observed phases α–α″ are centrosymmetric, whereas phase β is polar. A significant hysteresis on decompression skips the α″ phase and only α′ phase is formed before the ambient pressure α polymorph is recovered. The transitions and compression of claudetite II preserve its structure of 2D polymeric As2O3 layers; however, the intersheet As···As distances are compressed at 21 GPa to about 2.9 A, only 0.5 A more than the As–As single bond length. Previous DFT mo...

Computational investigations of the thermodynamic properties of size-selected water and Ar-water clusters: high-pressure transitions.

Classical parallel-tempering Monte Carlo simulations in the isothermal-isobaric ensemble were carried out for the (H2O)20 and Ar(H2O)20 clusters, over a wide range of temperatures (30-1000 K) and pressures (3 kPa-10 GPa) in order to study their thermodynamic properties and structural changes. The TIP4P/ice water model is employed for the water-water interactions, while both semiempirical and ab initio-based potentials are used to model the interaction between the rare-gas atoms and the water molecules. Temperature-pressure phase diagrams for these cluster systems were constructed by employing a two-dimensional multiple-histogram method. Structural changes were detected by analyzing the heat capacity landscape and the Pearson correlation coefficient profile for the interaction energy and volume. Those at high pressure correspond to solid-to-solid transitions and are found to be related to clathrate-like cages around the Ar atom. It is also shown that the formation and thermodynamic stability of such structures are determined by the intermolecular interaction between the rare-gas atoms and the host water molecules.