Pressure structural transitions

AkahamaY, Kowamura H, Hdusermann D et al (1995) New high-pressure structural transition of oxygen at 96 GPa associated with metallization in a molecular solid. Phys Rev Lett 74 4690-4693... 

Vaitheeswaran G, Kanchana V, Heathman S et al (2007) Elastic constants and high-pressure structural transitions in lanthanum monochalcogenides from experiment and theory. Phys Rev B75 184108... 

High-pressure structure Transition pressure (GPa) (upstroke) Volume decrease on transition (%) Ret ... 

Present in the next sections are the LDA results for equilibrium structure, pressure-induced transitions and electronic properties of various polymorphs, and the comparative analysis of the results for rutile and anatase that were obtained using LDA and GGA forms of the exchange-correlation potential. 

Finally, the use of the constant pressure minimization algorithm allows searching for phenomena that can be considered as precursors of pressure-induced transitions. For example, the predicted behaviour of the anatase cell constants as a function of pressure shows that the a(P) and c(P) plots are only linear for P<4 GPa, the value that is close to both the theoretical and experimental transition pressures. At higher pressures the a constant starts to grow under compression, indicating inherent structural instability. In the case of ratile there is a different precursor effect, nami y at 11 GPa the distances between the titanium atom and the two different oxygens, axial and equatorial, become equal. Once again, the pressure corresponds closely to the phase transition point. 

Since the vibrational spectra of sulfur allotropes are characteristic for their molecular and crystalline structure, vibrational spectroscopy has become a valuable tool in structural studies besides X-ray diffraction techniques. In particular, Raman spectroscopy on sulfur samples at high pressures is much easier to perform than IR spectroscopical studies due to technical demands (e.g., throughput of the IR beam, spectral range in the far-infrared). On the other hand, application of laser radiation for exciting the Raman spectrum may cause photo-induced structural changes. High-pressure phase transitions and structures of elemental sulfur at high pressures were already discussed in [1]. 

W. Paul, High Pressure in Semiconductor Physics A Historical Overview N. E. Christensen, Electronic Structure Calculations for Semiconductors under Pressure R. J. Neimes and M. I. McMahon, Structural Transitions in the Group IV, III-V and II-VI Semiconductors Under Pressure... 

Calibration is carried out by making use of standard substances which are known to undergo structure transitions at definite pressures. 

At very high pressures (in the GPa range), gas hydrates can undergo structural transitions to hydrate phases and filled ice structures. Figure 2.11 illustrates the structural changes that have been reported for gas hydrates at very high pressures at... 

At very high pressures (0.3-2.1 GPa), gas hydrates undergo structural transitions to other hydrate phases and filled ice phases. Guests can multiply occupy the large cages of these high-pressure hydrate phases. 

Figure 5.17 shows a predicted pressure versus excess water composition plot for the ethane+propane+water system at 274 K. At 0.0 mol fraction ethane (propane+ water) sll form at approximately 2 bar, and at 1.0 mol fraction ethane (ethane + water) si form at approximately 5 bar. At the intermediate composition of 0.78 mole fraction ethane, a quadruple point (Aq-sI-sII-V) exists in which both incipient hydrate structures are in equilibrium with vapor and aqueous phase. This point will be referred to as the structural transition composition the composition at which the incipient hydrate formation structure changes from sll to si at a given temperature. 

Raman spectroscopy with high pressure windowed cell (Sum et al., 1997 Thieu et al., 2000) P, T and hydrate phase Yes P, P, hydrate phase vs. time (mins) Typically for sapphire window < 10,000 psi (for capillary tubes <60,000 psi diamond anvil cell GPa s) Guest occupancy ratios, structure, structural transitions... 

---