Pressure-induced self-insertion reaction in CoSb3

Abstract

5 p. : il.The thermoelectric material CoSb3, with skutterudite structure, was subjected to high pressures using a diamond anvil cell up to 40 GPa. Above 20 GPa this compound undergoes an irreversible isosymmetric transition to a phase that, upon pressure release, exhibits a volume greater than that of pristine CoSb3. Experimental evidences are shown that allow us to interpret this anomalous behavior as a kind of pressure-induced insertion reaction