Laser ablation condensation of alpha-PbO(2)-type TiO(2)

A high-pressure phase of TiO(2) with an alpha-PbO(2)-type structure has been synthesized via very energetic Nd-YAG laser pulse irradiation of oxygen-purged Ti target. The nanometer-size alpha-PbO(2)-type particles were (11;0), (010), and (001) faceted but the larger ones were spherical. The combined effects of rapid heating and cooling, the nanophase effect, and dense surfaces account for the formation of coherently strained alpha-PbO(2) particles. The refined cell volume indicated a considerable residual stress to stabilize the dense structure to ambient condition.