Synchrotron X-ray diffraction of SiO2 to multimegabar pressures

Abstract

α-Quartz was compressed at room temperature in a diamond-anvil cell without a medium to maximum pressures of 31 to 213 GPa and was studied by energy-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Broad peaks observed in a previous high-pressure diffraction study of silica glass are evident in the present study of quartz compression, providing in situ confirmation of pressure-induced amorphization above 21 GPa. The 21-GPa crystalline-crystalline (quartz 1–11) transformation previously observed on quasihydrostatic compression of quartz is found to also occur under the current nonhydrostatic conditions, at the identical pressure. With nonhydrostatic compression, however, new sharp diffraction lines are observed at this pressure. The measurements show the coexistence of at least one amorphous and two crystalline phases above 21 GPa and below 43 GPa. The two crystalline phases are identified as quartz II and a new, high-pressure silica phase. The high-pressure phases, both crystalline and amorphous, can be quenched to ambient conditions from a maximum pressure of 43 GPa. With compression above 43 GPa, the diffraction pattern from quartz II is lost and the second crystalline phase persists to above 200 GPa.     

The mechanism of light induced reversible structural changes in amorphous antimony selenide films

Abstract

Photo– and thermoinduced phase transitions amorphous (a)? crystalline (c) in Sb_XSe_1-X (0.4≤x≤0.7) films are studied. For a→ c transition a new crystalline phase is found. The photostructural transitions by pulsed laser excitation are of thermal origin. The measured kinetics and threshold intensities are consistent with the proposed photothermal process model.     

Phase transformations in amorphous fullerite C60 under high pressure and high temperature

First phase transformations of amorphous fullerite C₆₀ at high temperatures (up to 1800 K) and high pressures (up to 8 GPa) have been investigated and compared with the previous studies on the crystalline fullerite. The study was conducted using neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The amorphous fullerite was obtained by ball-milling. We have shown that under thermobaric treatment no crystallization of amorphous fullerite into С₆₀ molecular modification is observed, and it transforms into amorphous-like or crystalline graphite. A kinetic diagram of phase transformation of amorphous fullerite in temperature–pressure coordinates was constructed for the first time. Unlike in crystalline fullerite, no crystalline polymerized phases were formed under thermobaric treatment on amorphous fullerite. We found that amorphous fullerite turned out to be less resistant to thermobaric treatment, and amorphous-like or crystalline graphite were formed at lower temperatures than in crystalline fullerite.     

Elastic properties of metastable crystalline and amorphous gasb-ge semiconductors synthesized under high pressure

We present the systematic study of the elastic shear G and bulk B moduli in amorphous and crystalline metastable ternary solid solutions (GaSb)_1?x Ge_2x . It is found that the moduli of crystalline phases initially decrease with Ge concentration, falling down to minimum values at 20-30% Ge. The minimal values of elastic moduli for amorphous samples are observed at 50-60% Ge. Elastic softness of crystalline solid solutions is assumed to be related to the increase of chemical disorder and, consequently, of static (non-thermal) geometrical disorder in positions of atoms. An additional topological disorder in amorphous solid solutions leads to additional elastic softening.     

Gold under high pressure

Abstract

First principle predictions for the equation of state of gold using solid and liquid state theories are compared up to combined pressures and temperatures of 600 GPa and 17 000 K with static diamond anvil cell compression, ultrasonic measurements and shock Hugoniot data which include a recent laser driven shock Hugoniot points at 600 GPa. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental data is observed. The theoretically estimated 300 K isotherm agrees to within 2 GPa with the isotherm that has been measured to 70 GPa using the diamond anvil cell. The structural energy estimates show that the normal f.c.c. phase remains stable under pressure. The estimate of the shock Hugoniot temperature of gold at 600 GPa based on a liquid state model is consistent with the measurements of laser induced shock luminescence, which in fact provides an experimental determination of the temperature of gold above its Hugoniot melting point. The powerful means provided by theory in the prediction of material properties of gold at ultra high pressures and temperatures is significant because gold is an efficient converter of laser energy into soft X-rays and is a potential candidate as a standard for high pressure, high temperature work.     

Phase transitions of sulfur at high pressure: Influence of temperature and pressure environment

Abstract

Phase transitions of orthorhombic sulfur were investigated above 10 GPa by Raman spectroscopy using red light excitation. Transitions into several phases that have been reported in previous studies using green light excitation, are confirmed. The phase behaviour is observed to depend strongly on the preparation method. In the presence of a pressure transmitting medium (methanol/ethanol, 4:1), a sequence of phases α-S₈ → [intermediate phase (“ip”) + S₆] → [S₆ + high pressure-low temperature phase (“hplt”)] is described and characterized. Without the use of a pressure transmitting medium, the phase sequence α-S₈ → [“ip” + “hplt”] + “hplt” is observed. In addition, contributions of amorphous sulfur are detected around 10 GPa, i.e. at pressures below the transformation of α-S₈ into the above-mentioned phases. Characteristic Raman spectra of the different phases are extracted and documented over a wide pressure range.     

High pressure produced textured wurtzitic BN with unusually low thermal stability

Abstract

An abnormally low wBN thermal stability, caused by the imperfection of the structure, has been observed for the material produced under high static pressures from pyrolytic rBN. Endothermic wBN→rBN transformation occurs in 490–710 K range by the inverse crystallographic mechanism.     

Anomalies of the baric and temperature dependences of the elastic characteristics of ice during solid-phase amorphization and the phase transition in the amorphous state

The elastic characteristics of ice up to pressures of 1.7 GPa are determined for the first time at a temperature of 77 K, along with features of their variation associated with the phase transformation of hexagonal ice Ih into high-density amorphous ice hda. The elastic instability of the ice lattice before solid-phase amorphization is experimentally confirmed. Elastic instability during a transition from one amorphous state to another amorphous state was also observed for the first time; this took place when hda ice was warmed at p=0.05 GPa from T=77 K. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 200–208 (July 1997)     

Pressure-induced phase transition of crystalline and amorphous silicon and germanium at low temperatures

Abstract

X-ray diffraction has been measured for crystalline silicon, crystalline germanium, amorphous silicon and amorphous germanium at temperatures down to 100 K and pressures up to 20 GPa using a diamond anvil cell and synchrotron radiation. The structural phase transitions, including amorphization, take place in the pressure-temperature range. It has been found that the structures after the phase transitions strongly depend on the path in the pressure-temperature diagram through which the system undergoes the phase transitions. For any of the aforementioned four materials, the high-pressure phase with the p-Sn structure is quenched during a release of pressure at 100 K, and transforms into an amorphous state when heated up to around 2 GPa. The path dependence of the states is discussed in relation to the pressure dependence of the heights of the energy barriers which have to be overcome when phase transitions occur. The effect of a structural disorder on the phase transition is also discussed by comparing the experimental results for the crystalline and amorphous materials.     

Electrical conductivity and equations of states of β-rhombohedral boron in the megabar dynamic pressure range

The pressure dependence of the conductivity of boron under conditions of a stepwise shock compression of megabaric range is studied. With this purpose, the following problems have been solved. The conductivity of boron has been measured in the range of dynamic pressures, where boron has different high-pressure phases. The equations of state of β-rhombohedral and amorphous boron have been constructed in a megabaric pressure range. The thermodynamic states of boron in the conditions of these experiments are calculated, which, in combination with the measurement data, made it possible to determine the change in the boron conductivity in the conditions of strong stepwise shock compression at dynamic pressures to 110 GPa. The increase in the conductivity of polycrystalline boron at megabar pressures is interpreted as a result of a nonmetal–metal transition.

     

Pressure and photo-induced phase transitions in sulphur investigated by Raman spectroscopy

Abstract

The phase transition of orthorhombic sulphur α-S₈ to a high pressure amorphous sulphur allotrope (a-S) has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The conversion is found to be induced by the absorption of laser light and can be discussed in terms of ring opening followed by cis-trans conversion of the dihedral angle of S₈ molecules. Laser energy and transition pressure are correlated due to the pressure tuned red shift of the absorption edge of α-S₈. The amorphous (a-S) phase is observed up to 15 GPa at laser intensities below 30μW/μm² at 514.5 and 488.0 nm. Above this threshold power a-S transforms into a second photo-induced phase (p-S), whose discrete Raman spectrum implies an ordered molecular and crystalline structure. By further increasing pressure crystalline S₆ can be created which is found to be the dominant molecular species at pressures above 10 GPa and low temperatures. A phase diagram in the range T < 300 K and p < 15 GPa is also presented.     

Time-resolved,stress-induced,and anisotropic phase transformation of a piezoelectric polymer

We investigate the time-dependent and anisotropic phase transformation of poly (vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) under bending. Using combined techniques of an atomic force microscope and a Fourier transform infrared spectroscope, observation of surface morphology and phase transformation in time was made. Results showed that bending stress induces the transformation of amorphous, α,β, and γ crystalline phases. Specifically, the amorphous phase was transformed into the β phase when the bending force was applied. In addition, the transformation observed was time and direction dependent. The anisotropic behavior observed brings insights into the origin of the piezoelectricity of PVDF.     

Spectroscopic Monitoring of the Eu 3+ Ion Local Structure in the Pressure Induced Amorphization Of EuZrF 7 Polycrystal

Amorphization is observed from the 5 D 0 M 7 F 0,1,2 emission spectra of the Eu 3+ ions in EuZrF 7 polycrystal measured at different pressures at room temperature. The crystalline phase progressively transforms to amorphous when the pressure is increased over 2 GPa. Compression of the EuZrF 7 crystalline phase results in an increase in the number of non-equivalent environments of the Eu 3+ ions with different crystal-field strengths. Simultaneously, an apparent loss of the long-range order, being typical for amorphous materials like glasses, can be observed, yielding similar emission spectra for the Eu 3+ ions as in the case of the fluorozirconate glasses. In these materials the local structure of the Eu 3+ ions is at least as low as the C S symmetry of the EuZrF 7 phase and their co-ordination number does not differ significantly from the eight-fold co-ordinated Eu 3+ ions found in the crystalline phase. Amorphization is retained after pressure release.     

Neutron scattering studies of structural transformations and vibrational spectra of ice after high pressure treatment

Abstract

The transitions of the recovered high-pressure phase ice VIII first to high-density amorphous (hda) and low-density amorphous ices, and finally to cubic Ic, and hexagonal Ih ice were observed at heating using real-time neutron diffraction. Inelastic incoherent neutron scattering measurements on the hdu ice, ice Ih and high-pressure phase ice VI revealed similarity between the amorphous phase and crystalline ice VI and led to the new proposition that hda ice consists of two interpenetrating hydrogen-bounded networks with no hydrogen bonds between “sublattices”.     

一种新的氮化碳相的冲击波合成

 为了合成理论预测存在的高密度氮化碳相,以富氮的C-N-O非晶材料和晶态的双氰胺为前体,在低于50 GPa的冲击压力范围内进行了一系列冲击回收实验。回收产物的XRD衍射表明,形成了由β-C₃N₄和一种新的氮化碳相组成的复合相。该新相的衍射峰可以完全指标化为一个单斜晶胞,晶胞常数为a=0.981 nm,b=0.723 nm,c=0.561 nm,β=95.2°,晶胞体积V_cell=0.396 6 nm³。根据实验结果可以认为,氮化碳复合相的形成是前体有机分子在瞬态的冲击波化学反应后,经历了极高速的冲击淬火过程（约10⁹ K/s）,作为一种高压亚稳相而被保存下来。冲击压缩富氮的有机物前体,是合成氮化碳相的一种新方法。     

Fe基α相合金的冲击相变及其对层裂行为的影响研究

利用正向加载和逆向加载相结合的实验方法,实验研究了从低压到高压三种不同压力范围内Fe基α相合金(Fe-85.03wt%,Mn-7.63wt%,Ni-7.01wt%,Al-0.3wt%)的冲击相变和卸载逆相变历程及对应加载状态的层裂行为特征.给出了Fe基α相合金含冲击相变和卸载逆相变的加卸载Hugoniot线,发现冲击相变阈值、逆相变阈值和冲击加载压力共同决定其冲击加卸载历程,冲击相变强烈影响其层裂行为,导致样品发生了"异常"层裂.利用获得的冲击加卸载历程从应力波相互作用的角度解 关键词： α相合金')" href="#">Fe基α相合金 相变 逆相变 层裂     

A Study of the Thermal Hysteresis in AgNO3

The reversible phase transformation of AgNO₃ is studied. Dielectric constant, d.c. resistivity, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and dilatometric measurements show the occurrence of a reversible phase transition II→I at 160°C with heat of transformation H = 0.78 kcal/mol. The thermal hysteresis in this reversible transformation is examined, the magnitude of the temperature hysteresis does not exceed 12°C. An acceptable agreement is observed between the measured values of the transition temperature obtained by three different experimental techniques. The dilatometric analysis shows that this transition is accompanied by thermal shrinkage with relative shrinkage coefficient 8 × 10^?4. Thermal analysis are also used to get thermodynamic and kinetic data of this phase transition. The temperature dependence of the dielectric constant and d.c. resistivity for single crystals as well as polycrystalline samples of AgNO₃ have clearly located and confirm the phase transitions II→I→II with a strong support to its thermal hysteresis character. The conduction mechanism is found to be activated by energy 0.12 eV for phase I and 0.36 eV for phase II. The observed thermal behaviour of the various measured parameters is attributed to orientational disorder of the nitrate group leading to an order-disorder phase transition which is reported here for first time in AgNO₃.     

On the occurrence of b.c.c.–h.c.p. structural phase transition in Mo under pressure

Abstract

To resolve the controversy on the occurrence of a b.c.c.–h.c.p. transition in shock as well as static measurements in Mo, we have done more accurate total energy electronic structure calculations. Our results show that this phasetransition should occur at much higher pressures than suggested by earlier calculations.     

Phase control of iron silicides using femtosecond laser irradiation

Phase control of Fe–Si amorphous thin film in micro area is demonstrated using femtosecond laser irradiation. A femtosecond laser beam with a high repetition rate over 200 kHz and tightly focused through an objective lens promotes both crystallization and phase transformation from an amorphous phase into crystalline β-FeSi₂, α-FeSi₂, or ε-FeSi phases. Formation of each crystalline phase is possible by changing the pulse energy or the scanning speed of the incident laser beam.     

Generating Metallic Amorphous Core–Shell Nanoparticles by a Solid‐State Amorphization Process

Metallic crystalline/amorphous core–shell nanoparticles consisting of a crystalline Pd core (c‐Pd) surrounded by an amorphous Fe₂₅Sc₇₅ shell (a‐FeSc) are prepared by inert‐gas condensation. A phase transformation of the c‐Pd by a solid‐state diffusion process resulting in an amorphous core (a‐PdSc) surrounded by an amorphous FeSc shell is observed if the core–shell structure is irradiated at ambient temperature with 300 keV electrons. The amorphization process seems to involve the diffusion of irradiation‐induced defects and is presumably driven by the large negative heat of mixing of Pd and Sc, as well as by the excess enthalpy of the interfaces between the c‐Pd regions and the surrounding a‐FeSc. The structural transformation reported here opens a new way to producing metallic amorphous core–shell nanoparticles of different chemical compositions and probably novel properties.