High-Pressure Behavior of Nano Titanium Dioxide

Nanocrystalline rutile Titanium dioxide has been studied by X-ray diffraction at ambient temperature up to 47.4 GPa. The material is found to transform to the monoclinic baddeleyite structure between 20 and 30 GPa, which is higher than the corresponding pressure range for bulk material. Upon decompression, the baddeleyite phase transforms to the f -PbO 2 phase at about 4-2 GPa. The experimental bulk moduli are 211(7) GPa for the rutile phase, 235(16) for the baddeleyite type and 212(25) GPa for the f -PbO 2 type phase. The results are compared with previous measurements of bulk rutile Titanium dioxide.     

Observation of the Cinnabar Phase in ZnSe at High Pressure

In this paper we describe the results of an energy dispersive X-ray diffraction experiment carried out in the ZnSe 1 m x Te x alloy and pure ZnSe under high pressure. In the downstroke the cinnabar phase is observed between the rocksalt and the zincblende phases. The analysis of the whole series of compositions ( x =0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2) enables us to establish its lattice parameters in ZnSe ( a =3.785 + and c =8.844 + at 10.5 GPa). The X-ray diffraction pattern simulation suggests that the internal parameters u and v are close to 0.5, indicating that the cinnabar phase in ZnSe is similar to that observed in GaAs and ZnTe. The cinnabar's stability range decreases as the Te content is reduced.     

Thermo-elastic property of Ca(OH)2 portlandite

An equation of state (EoS) for Ca(OH)₂ portlandite has been obtained through measurements of pressure and temperature dependence of volume by means of in-situ X-ray observation. The bulk modulus and its pressure derivative at zero pressure calculated using third-order Birch-Murnaghan's equation of state is 33.1 GPa and 4.2 at 300 K, respectively. The unit cell parameters and the volumes have been also determined at 573 K and 673 K. Temperature derivatives of the bulk modulus and its pressure derivative have been calculated to be ?0.022 GPa/K and 0.0072 K^?1, respectively. Thermal expansion coefficient of portlandite has been calculated from the EoS. The pressure dependence of entropy has been obtained from the present thermo-elastic parameters.     

High Pressure X-Ray Absorption and Diffraction Study of InAs

We have performed X-ray absorption (XAS) and diffraction (XRD) measurements at high pressure on samples of powdered InAs, up to 50 and 80 GPa, respectively. In the lower pressure range, our data are consistent with the following structural sequence: Zincblende M NaCl M Cmcm . The first order transition from the semiconducting Zincblende phase to the metallic NaCl phase is clearly seen by the shift in the absorption onset at the As K-edge and the strong modifications of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) due to the changes in the local structure from a 4-fold to a 6-fold coordinated environment. XAS shows the high pressure phase to be locally site-ordered. The diffraction data, analized by Rietveld fitting, gives a volume discontinuity of j V/V 0 ～0.18 for the first order transition. There is no apparent volume discontinuity associated to the NaCl M Cmcm transition.     

Comparative Study on Pressure-Induced Structural Changes between C 6 O 2 I 4 and C 6 I 6

We have investigated the pressure effects on the structural properties of C 6 O 2 I 4 up to 39 GPa by powder x-ray diffraction measurements, which were compared with those of C 6 I 6 . The diffraction patterns of C 6 O 2 I 4 indicated a phase transition starting at 26.8 GPa. The mixed state of the low- and high-pressure phases continued up to 39 GPa well above an insulator-to-metal transition pressure of 33 GPa. The C 6 O 2 I 4 molecule remains planar structure in the low-pressure phase below 26.8 GPa in contrast to the non-planar molecular structure of C 6 I 6 at ambient and high pressures.     

Phase Relations and EOS of ZrO 2 and HfO 2 Under High-temperature and High-pressure

The phase relations and equations of state of ZrO 2 and HfO 2 high-pressure polymorphs have been investigated by means of in situ observation using multi-anvil type high-pressure devices and synchrotron radiation. Baddeleyite (monoclinic ZrO 2 ) transforms to two distorted fluorite (CaF 2 )-type phases at 3-4 GPa depending on temperature: an orthorhombic phase, orthoI, below 600 °C and a tetragonal phase, which is one of the high-temperature forms of ZrO 2 , above 600 °C. Both orthoI and tetragonal phases then transform into another orthorhombic phase, orthoII, with a cotunnite (PbCl 2 )-type structure above 12.5 GPa and the phase boundary is almost independent of temperature. OrthoII is stable up to 1800 °C and 24 GPa. In case of HfO 2 , orthoI is stable from 4 to 14.5 GPa below 1250-1400 °C and transforms to the tetragonal phase above these temperatures. OrthoII of HfO 2 appears above 14.5 GPa and is stable up to 1800 °C at 21 GPa. The unit cell parameters and the volumes of these high-pressure phases have been determined as functions of pressure and temperature. The orthoI/tetragonal-to-orthoII transition of both ZrO 2 and HfO 2 is accompanied by about 9% volume decrease. The bulk moduli of orthoII calculated using Birch-Murnaghan's equations of state are 296 GPa and 312 GPa for ZrO 2 and HfO 2 , respectively. Since orthoII of both ZrO 2 and HfO 2 are quenchable to ambient conditions, these are candidates for super-hard materials.     

Microscopic Study of the Rock Salt-Caesium Chloride Phase Stability in Alkali Halides

In this work we present a microscopic study of observable magnitudes linked to the relative stability of the rock salt (B1) and caesium chloride (B2) phases in the AX (A: Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs; X: F, Cl, Br, I) crystal family. Transition pressures and j Y = Y ( B 2) m Y ( B 1) differences in total energies, volumes, and bulk moduli at zero and transition pressures are computed following a localized Hartree-Fock scheme. The arrangement of the data in clear trends is shown to be dominated by the cation atomic number, being weaker the dependence of the data on the anion. These systematics are well interpreted in terms of a variety of microscopic arguments that emerge from the decomposition of the energy, pressure, and bulk modulus in anionic and cationic contributions.     

闪光X射线衍射成像系统设计及实验方法

为实现材料在冲击加载下微观动力学响应测量,基于小型闪光X射线源开展衍射成像系统设计.利用直流X光机及高纯锗探测器实现系统衍射光路的精确调节,克服了闪光X射线瞬时强度高及连续辐射本底强导致的衍射角度确定困难,并采用Scandiflash AB公司TD-450S和成像板建立了衍射成像系统.应用该系统在冲击加载实验中获得了LiF单晶单脉冲的Mo-Kα线静态及动态衍射图像.该闪光X射线衍射系统时间分辨率可达25ns,为冲击压缩实验中材料瞬时结构变化测量提供了新的实验方法.     

High-Pressure Ultrasonic Measurements on Single Crystal

Elastic properties of single crystalline germanium have been determined up to 6 GPa. All three elastic constants and their pressure derivative have been obtained by transit time measurements in a large volume cell. Comparison with previously published data fully validate the proposed set-up. The design of this set-up allows simultaneous in situ ultrasonic and X-ray diffraction measurements.     

X-ray Diffraction Study of Cd 0.8 Zn 0.2 Te Under High Pressure and Temperature

Energy dispersive X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation has been used to study phase transformations of Cd 0.8 Zn 0.2 Te under high pressure and temperature. We confirm the presence of a cinnabar phase between the zinc-blende and rock-salt phases. But contrary to the results in CdTe, this intermediate phase is found to be stable only on pressure decrease and in a narrower pressure and temperature range. Single-phase cinnabar patterns are obtained only at 300 and 373 K. At 673 K and above, even on pressure decrease, no evidence of the cinnabar phase is found. In this temperature range, a phase segregation phenomenon is observed in the zinc-blende phase during the zinc-blende transition in both upstroke and downstroke, and the retrieved sample at ambient conditions presents a double pattern corresponding to two different Zn contents.     

Suppression of Jahn-Teller Distortion and Insulator-To-Metal Transition in LaMnO 3 at High Pressures

Structural, vibrational and electronic properties of LaMnO 3 under pressures up to 38 GPa have been studied by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, optical reflectivity, and transport measurements. The cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion of the MnO 6 octahedra of the perovskite-type structure is continuously suppressed with increasing pressure, a process which appears completed at ～20 GPa. The system remains insulating to 32 GPa, where an insulator-metal transition is observed. This transition is attributed to strengthened Mn--O--Mn interactions due to the increasing overlap of atomic orbitals.     

Solid and Liquid AgI at High Pressure and High Temperature: A X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study

We report about recent X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements on solid and liquid AgI under high pressure. The structural behaviour of AgI has been investigated to pressures P～4.3 GPa at room temperature and to P～1.8 GPa at 1100 K. The high temperature/high pressure conditions have been obtained by means of a large-volume press of the Paris-Edinburgh type, coupled with a 10 mm boron/epoxy biconical gasket. The absorption spectra have been collected in transmission mode, both at the K-edge of Ag and I, and the samples have been characterized in situ by energy scanning X-ray diffraction at fixed angles. Our XAS results for solid AgI are compatible with previous X-ray diffraction measurements. For liquid AgI, we observe a slight change in the intensity and a shift in the frequency of the XAS oscillations with respect to what obtained in the case of the ambient pressure liquid.