Effects of grinding-induced grain boundary and interfaces on electrical transportation and structure phase transition in ZnSe under high pressure

Interface and scale effects are the two most important factors which strongly affect the structure and the properties of nano-/micro-crystals under pressure.We conduct an experiment under high pressure in situ alternating current impedance to elucidate the effects of interface on the structure and electrical transport behavior of two Zn Se samples with different sizes obtained by physical grinding.The results show that（i） two different-sized Zn Se samples undergo the same phase transitions from zinc blend to cinnabar-type phase and then to rock salt phase;（ii） the structural transition pressure of the859-nm Zn Se sample is higher than that of the sample of 478 nm,which indicates the strong scale effect.The pressure induced boundary resistance change is obtained by fitting the impedance spectrum,which shows that the boundary conduction dominates the electrical transport behavior of Zn Se in the whole experimental pressure range.By comparing the impedance spectra of two different-sized Zn Se samples at high pressure,we find that the resistance of the 478-nm Zn Se sample is lower than that of the 859-nm sample,which illustrates that the sample with smaller particle size has more defects which are due to physical grinding.

Compression behavior and phase transition of β-Si_3N_4 under high pressure

The compressibility and pressure-induced phase transition of β-Si3N4 were investigated by using an angle dispersive x-ray diffraction technique in a diamond anvil cell at room temperature. Rietveld refinements of the x-ray powder diffraction data verified that the hexagonal structure（with space group P63/m, Z = 2 formulas per unit cell） β-Si3N4 remained stable under high pressure up to 37 GPa. Upon increasing pressure, β-Si3 N4 transformed to δ-Si3N4 at about 41 GPa. The initial β-Si3N4 was recovered as the pressure was released to ambient pressure, implying that the observed pressureinduced phase transformation was reversible. The pressure–volume data of β-Si3N4 was fitted by the third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, which yielded a bulk modulus K0= 273（2） GPa with its pressure derivative K0= 4（fixed）and K0= 278（2） GPa with K 0= 5. Furthermore, the compressibility of the unit cell axes（a and c-axes） for the β-Si3N4 demonstrated an anisotropic property with increasing pressure.

High-pressure investigations on the isostructural phase transition and metallization in realgar with diamond anvil cells

The high-pressure structural,vibrational and electrical properties for realgar were investigated by in-situ Raman scattering and electrical conductivity experiments combined with first-principle calculations up to~30.8 GPa.It was verified that realgar underwent an isostructural phase transition at~6.3 GPa and a metallization at a higher pressure of~23.5 GPa.The isostructural phase transition was well evidenced by the obvious variations of Raman peaks,electrical conductivity,crystal parameters and the As–S bond length.The phase transition of metallization was in closely associated with the closure of bandgap rather than caused by the structural phase transition.And furthermore,the metallic realgar exhibited a relatively low compressibility with the unit cell volume V_(0)=718.1.4Å^(3)and bulk modulus B_(0)=36.1 GPa.

High pressure structural phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials

Recently, the high pressure study on the TiO_2 nanomaterials has attracted considerable attention due to the typical crystal structure and the fascinating properties of TiO_2 with nanoscale sizes. In this paper, we briefly review the recent progress in the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials. We discuss the size effects and morphology effects on the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials with different particle sizes, morphologies, and microstructures. Several typical pressure-induced structural phase transitions in TiO_2 nanomaterials are presented, including size-dependent phase transition selectivity in nanoparticles, morphology-tuned phase transition in nanowires, nanosheets,and nanoporous materials, and pressure-induced amorphization（PIA） and polyamorphism in ultrafine nanoparticles and TiO_2-B nanoribbons. Various TiO_2 nanostructural materials with high pressure structures are prepared successfully by high pressure treatment of the corresponding crystal nanomaterials, such as amorphous TiO_2 nanoribbons, α-PbO_2-type TiO_2 nanowires, nanosheets, and nanoporous materials. These studies suggest that the high pressure phase transitions of TiO_2 nanomaterials depend on the nanosize, morphology, interface energy, and microstructure. The diversity of high pressure behaviors of TiO_2 nanomaterials provides a new insight into the properties of nanomaterials, and paves a way for preparing new nanomaterials with novel high pressure structures and properties for various applications.

Structures and phase transitions of ScH_3 under high pressure

The structures and the phase transitions of ScH3 under high pressure are investigated using first-principles calcula- tions. The calculated structural parameters at zero pressure agree well with the available experimental data. With increasing pressure, the transition sequence hcp （GdHa-type）→ C2/m →fcc→4hcp （YH3-type）→Cmcm of ScH3 is predicted first; the corresponding transition pressures at 0 K are 23 GPa, 25 GPa, 348 GPa, and 477 GPa, respectively. The C2/m symmetry structure is a possible candidate but not a good one as the intermediate state from hexagonal to cubic in ScH3. On the other hand, via the analysis of the structures of hexagonal SCH2.9, cubic ScH3, and cubic ScH2, we find that the repulsive interactions of H-H atoms must play an important role in the transition from hexagonal to cubic.

Experimental Observation of Phase Transition in Sb203 under High Pressure

The in situ high-pressure behavior of the semiconductor antimony trioxide （Sb2O3） iS investigated by the Raman spectroscopy techniques and angle-dispersive synchrotron x-ray powder diffractfon in a diamond anvil cell up to 31.5 and 30.7 GPa, respectively. New peaks observed in the external lattice mode range in the Raman spectra at 13.5 GPa suggest that the structural phase transition occurs. The group mode （140 cm^-1） in Sb2O3 exhibits anomalous pressure dependence; that is, the frequency decreases gradually with the increasing pressure. High pressure synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements at room temperature reveal that the transition from the orthorhombic structure to high-pressure new phase occurs at about 14.2 GPa, corresponding to the softening of the group optic mode （140cm^-1）.

Equal compressibility structural phase transition of molybdenum at high pressure

We have studied the high-pressure compression behavior of molybdenum up to 60 GPa by synchrotron radial x-ray diffraction(RXRD)in a diamond anvil cell(DAC).It is found that all diffraction peaks of molybdenum undergo a split at around 27 GPa,and we believe that a phase transition from a body-centered cubic structure to a rhombohedral structure at room pressure has occurred.The slope of pressure–volume curve shows continuity before and after this phase transition,when fitting the pressure–volume curves of the body-centered cubic structure at low pressure and the rhombohedral structure at high pressure.A bulk modulus of 261.3(2.7)GPa and a first-order derivative of the bulk modulus of 4.15(0.14)are obtained by using the nonhydrostatic compression data at the angleψ=54.7°between the diffracting plane normal and stress axis.

Structural Phase Transitions of ZnTe under High Pressure Using Experiments and Calculations

The pressure-induced structural transitions of ZnTe are investigated at pressures up to 59.2 GPa in a diamond anvil cell by using synchrotron powder x-ray diffraction method. A phase transition from the initial zinc blende （ZB, ZnTe-Ⅰ） structure to a cinnabar phase （ZnTe-Ⅱ） is observed at 9.6 GPa, followed by a high pressure orthorhombic phase （ZnTe-Ⅲ） with Cmcm symmetry at 12.1 GPa. The ZB, cinnabar （space group P3121）, Cmcm, P31 and rock salt structures of ZnTe are investigated by using density functional theory calculations. Based on the experiments and calculations, the ZnTe-Ⅱ phase is determined to have a cinnabar structure rather than a P3 1 symmetry.

Pressure-induced phase transitions in single-crystalline Cu_4Bi_4S_9 nanoribbons

In situ angle dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements under pressure are em- ployed to study the structural evolution of Cu4Bi4S9 nanoribbons, which are fabricated by using a facile solvothermal method. Both experiments show that a structural phase transition occurs near 14.5 GPa, and there is a pressure-induced re- versible amorphization at about 25.6 GPa. The electrical transport property of a single Cu4Bi4S9 nanoribbon under different pressures is also investigated.

Structural phase transitions of tellurium nanoplates under pressure

In situ high-pressure angle dispersive x-ray diffraction experiments using synchrotron radiation on Te nanoplates were carried out with a diamond anvil cell at room temperature. The results show that Te-Ⅰ with a trigonal structure transforms to triclinic Te-Ⅱ at about 4.9 GPa, Te-Ⅱ transforms to monoclinic Te-Ⅲ at about 8.0 GPa, Te-Ⅲ turns to rhombohedral Te-Ⅳ at about 23.8 GPa, and Te-Ⅳ changes to body centered cubic Te-Ⅴ at 27.6 GPa. The bulk moduli B0 of Te nanoplates are higher than those of Te bulk materials.

Pressure-induced phase transitions in the ZrXY(X=Si,Ge,Sn;Y=S,Se,Te)family compounds

Pressure is an effective and clean way to modify the electronic structures of materials,cause structural phase transitions and even induce the emergence of superconductivity.Here,we predicted several new phases of the Zr XY family at high pressures using the crystal structures search method together with first-principle calculations.In particular,the Zr Ge S compound undergoes an isosymmetric phase transition from P4/nmm-I to P4/nmm-II at approximately 82 GPa.Electronic band structures show that all the high-pressure phases are metallic.Among these new structures,P4/nmm-II Zr Ge S and P4/mmm Zr Ge Se can be quenched to ambient pressure with superconducting critical temperatures of approximately 8.1 K and 8.0 K,respectively.Our study provides a way to tune the structure,electronic properties,and superconducting behavior of topological materials through pressure.

Identification of the pressure-induced phase transition of ZnSe with the positron annihilation method

This paper studies the pressure-induced phase transition between zincblende （B3） and NaC1 （B1） structure ZnSe by using the hydrostatic pressure first-principles pseudopotential plane wave method. The energy-volume and enthalpy- pressure curves are employed to estimate the transition pressure. It is found that ZnSe undergoes a first-order phase transition from the B3 structure to the B1 structure at approximately 15 GPa derived from the energy-volume relation and 14 GPa based on deduction from enthalpy pressure data. The pressure-related positron bulk lifetimes of the two ZnSe structures are calculated with the atomic superposition approximation method. In comparison with the 13.4% reduction in volume of ZnSe at the transition pressure, the positron bulk lifetime decreases more significantly and the relative value declines up to 22.3%. The results show that positron annihilation is an effective technique to identify and characterize the first-order phase transition and can give valuable information about changes in micro-scale, such as volume shrinkage and compressibility.

Pressure-induced isostructural phase transition in α-Ni（OH）2 nanowires

High pressure structural phase transition of monoclinic paraotwayite type α-Ni(OH)2 nanowires with a diameter of15 nm–20 nm and a length of several micrometers were studied by synchrotron x-ray diffraction(XRD) and Raman spectra.It is found that the α-Ni(OH)2 nanowires experience an isostructural phase transition associated with the amorphization of the H-sublattice of hydroxide in the interlayer spaces of the two-dimensional crystal structure at 6.3 GPa–9.3 GPa. We suggest that the isostructural phase transition can be attributed to the amorphization of the H-sublattice. The bulk moduli for the low pressure phase and the high pressure phase are 41.2(4.2) GPa and 94.4(5.6) GPa, respectively. Both the pressure-induced isostructural phase transition and the amorphization of the H-sublattice in the α-Ni(OH)2 nanowires are reversible upon decompression. Our results show that the foreign anions intercalated between the α-Ni(OH)2 layers play important roles in their structural phase transition.

Electronic structure and phase transition engineering in NbS2: Crucial role of van der Waals interactions

Based on first-principles simulations,we revisit the crystal structures,electronic structures,and structural stability of the layered transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs)NbS2,and shed more light on the crucial roles of the van der Waals(vdW)interactions.Theoretically calculated results imply that the vdW corrections are important to reproduce the layered crystal structure,which is significant to correctly describe the electronic structure of NbS2.More interestingly,under hydrostatic pressure or tensile strain in ab plane,an isostructural phase transition from two-dimensional layered structure to three-dimensional bulk in the I4/mmm phase has been uncovered.The abnormal structural transition is closely related to the electronic structure instability and interlayer bonding effects.The interlayer Nb-S distances collapse and the interlayer vdW interactions disappear,concomitant with new covalent bond emerging and increasing coordination number.Present work highlights the significance of the vdW interactions,and provides new insights on the unconventional structural transitions in NbS2,which will attract wide audience working in the hectic field of TMDCs.

Pressure-induced structural,electronic,and superconducting phase transitions in TaSe_(3)

TaSe_(3)has garnered significant research interests due to its unique quasi-one-dimensional crystal structure,which gives rise to distinctive properties.Using crystal structure search and first-principles calculations,we systematically investigated the pressure-induced structural and electronic phase transitions of quasi-one-dimensional TaSe_(3)up to 100 GPa.In addition to the ambient pressure phase(P2_(1)/m-I),we identified three high-pressure phases:P2_(1)/m-II,Pnma,and Pmma.For the P2_(1)/m-I phase,the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling(SOC)results in significant SOC splitting and changes in the band inversion characteristics.Furthermore,band structure calculations for the three high-pressure phases indicate metallic natures,and the electron localization function suggests ionic bonding between Ta and Se atoms.Our electron-phonon coupling calculations reveal a superconducting critical temperature of approximately 6.4 K for the Pmma phase at 100 GPa.This study provides valuable insights into the high-pressure electronic behavior of quasi-one-dimensional TaSe_(3).

First-principles study of structural and electronic properties of multiferroic oxide Mn_(3)TeO_(6) under high pressure

Mn_(3)TeO_(6)(MTO) has been experimentally found to adopt a P2_(1)/In structure under high pressure,which exhibits a significantly smaller band gap compared to the atmospheric R3 phase.In this study,we systematically investigate the magnetism,structural phase transition,and electronic properties of MTO under high pressure through first-principles calculations.Both R3 and P2_(1)/n phases of MTO are antiferromagnetic at zero temperature.The R3 phase transforms to the P2_(1)/n phase at 7.5 8 GPa,accompanied by a considerable volume collapse of about 6.47%.Employing the accurate method that combines DFT+U/and GW,the calculated band gap of R3 phase at zero pressure is very close to the experimental values,while that of the P2_(1)/n phase is significantly overestimated.The main reason for this difference is that the experimental study incorrectly used the Kubelka-Munk plot for the indirect band gap to obtain the band gap of the P2_(1)/n phase instead of the Kubelka-Munk plot for the direct band gap.Furthermore,our study reveals that the transition from the R3 phase to the P2_(1)/n phase is accompanied by a slight reduction in the band gap.

Ultrafast dynamics in photo-excited Mott insulator Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_7 at high pressure

High-pressure ultrafast dynamics,as a new crossed research direction,are sensitive to subtle non-equilibrium state changes that might be unresolved by equilibrium states measurements,providing crucial information for studying delicate phase transitions caused by complex interactions in Mott insulators.With time-resolved transient reflectivity measurements,we identified the new phases in the spin–orbit Mott insulator Sr_(3)Ir_(2)O_7 at 300 K that was previously unidentified using conventional approaches such as x-ray diffraction.Significant pressure-dependent variation of the amplitude and lifetime obtained by fitting the reflectivity?R/R reveal the changes of electronic structure caused by lattice distortions,and reflect the critical phenomena of phase transitions.Our findings demonstrate the importance of ultrafast nonequilibrium dynamics under extreme conditions for understanding the phase transition of Mott insulators.

Unveiling the pressure-driven metal–semiconductor–metal transition in the doped TiS_(2)

Conventional theories expect that materials under pressure exhibit expanded valence and conduction bands,leading to increased electrical conductivity.Here,we report the electrical properties of the doped 1T-TiS_(2) under high pressure by electrical resistance investigations,synchrotron x-ray diffraction,Raman scattering and theoretical calculations.Up to 70 GPa,an unusual metal-semiconductor-metal transition occurs.Our first-principles calculations suggest that the observed anti-Wilson transition from metal to semiconductor at 17 GPa is due to the electron localization induced by the intercalated Ti atoms.This electron localization is attributed to the strengthened coupling between the doped Ti atoms and S atoms,and the Anderson localization arising from the disordered intercalation.At pressures exceeding 30.5 GPa,the doped TiS_(2) undergoes a re-metallization transition initiated by a crystal structure phase transition.We assign the most probable space group as P2_(1)2_(1)2_(1).Our findings suggest that materials probably will eventually undergo the Wilson transition when subjected to sufficient pressure.

Raman and luminescence studies on phase transition of EuNbO_4 under high pressure

Raman and luminescence studies on the phase transition of europium orthoniobates （EuNbO4） under high pressure were performed. The pressure dependent Raman spectra revealed that an irreversible phase transition from monoclinic phase to M＇-fergusonite phase of EuNbO4 occurred at 7.3 GPa, and the two phases coexisted over a pressure range from 7.3 to 13.7 GPa. An obvious discontinuity on luminescence intensity ratio between 5D0 →7F2 and 5D0→7F1 transitions was observed with increasing pressure, in- dicating also that a phase transition occurred at 7.3 GPa, which was in agreement with the high pressure Raman spectra data. Mean- while, the Raman and luminescence spectra in the temperature range of 20--300 K showed the structure stability at low temperatures.

The effect of phase transition on the compressional wave velocity for a trachybasalt at high temperature and high pressure

Compressional wave velocities in a trachybasalt, from Yichuan County, Henan Province, have been measured at 2.0 GPa and up to 1 350℃ in a YJ-3000 t cubic-anvil highpressure apparatus. The run products have been gained at the same pressure but different temperatures. The observation of the thin sections of the run products indicates that, corresponding to the variation of the compressional wave velocity in the trachybasalt, the phase transition has taken place. The relationship between the change of the compressional wave velocity and the hydrous mineral dehydration, solid-solid phase transformation and partial melting has been discussed. The experimental data presented here are of great importance to elucidating the geological process in the earth’s interior.