The nonlinear anomalous lattice elasticity associated with the high-pressure phase transition in spodumene: A high precission static compression study

The high-pressure behavior of the lattice elasticity of spodumene, LiAlSi2O6, was studied by static compression in a diamond-anvil cell up to 9.3 GPa. Investigations by means of single-crystal XRD and Raman spectroscopy within the hydrostatic limits of the pressure medium focus on the pressure ranges around similar to 3.2 and similar to 7.7 GPa, which have been reported previously to comprise two independent structural phase transitions. While our measurements confirm the well-established first-order C2/c-P2(1)/c transformation at 3.19 GPa (with 1.2% volume discontinuity and a hysteresis between 0.02 and 0.06 GPa), both unit-cell dimensions and the spectral changes observed in high-pressure Raman spectra give no evidence for structural changes related to a second phase transition. Monoclinic lattice parameters and unit-cell volumes at in total 59 different pressure points have been used to re-calculate the lattice-related properties of spontaneous strain, volume strain, and the bulk moduli as a function of pressure across the transition. A modified Landau free energy expansion in terms of a one component order parameter has been developed and tested against these experimentally determined data. The Landau solution provides a much better reproduction of the observed anomalies than any equation-of-state fit to data sets truncated below and above P (tr), thus giving Landau parameters of K (0) = 138.3(2) GPa, K' = 7.46(5), lambda (V) = 33.6(2) GPa, a = 0.486(3), b = -29.4(6) GPa and c = 551(11) GPa

Crystalline polymeric carbon dioxide stable at megabar pressures

The nature and stability of carbon dioxide under extreme conditions relevant to the Earth’s mantle is still under debate, in view of its possible role within the deep carbon cycle. Here, the authors perform high-pressure experiments providing evidence that polymeric crystalline CO2 is stable under megabaric conditions

Earth Materials at the Molecular Level

The extension of crystallographic methods to minerals at non-ambient conditions and materials of technical interest is of importance for understanding the mutual relationship between crystal structure and physico-chemical properties. We apply this approach to understand the physics of the interior of the Earth as well as to contribute to the search for efficient non-linear optical materials

A simple and generalised P-T-V EoS for continuous phase transitions, implemented in EosFit and applied to quartz

none4sinoneAngel, Ross J.; Alvaro, Matteo; Miletich, Ronald; Nestola, FabrizioAngel, Ross J.; Alvaro, Matteo; Miletich, Ronald; Nestola, Fabrizi

The hydrocarbon-bearing clathrasil chibaite and its host–guest structure at low temperature

The natural sII-type clathrasil chibaite [chemical formula SiO2·(M12,M16), where Mx denotes a guest molecule] was investigated using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range from 273 to 83 K. The O atoms of the structure at room temperature, which globally conforms to space group Fd{\overline 3}m [V = 7348.9 (17) Å3, a = 19.4420 (15) Å], have anomalous anisotropic displacement parameters indicating a static or dynamic disorder. With decreasing temperature, the crystal structure shows a continuous symmetry-lowering transformation accompanied by twinning. The intensities of weak superstructure reflections increase as temperature decreases. A monoclinic twinned superstructure was derived at 100 K [A2/n, V = 7251.0 (17) Å3, a′ = 23.7054 (2), b′ = 13.6861 (11), c′ = 23.7051 (2) Å, β′ = 109.47°]. The transformation matrix from the cubic to the monoclinic system is ai′ = (½ 1 ½ / ½ 0 −½ / ½ −1 ½). The A2/n host framework has Si—O bond lengths and Si—O—Si angles that are much closer to known values for stable silicate-framework structures compared with the averaged Fd{\overline 3}m model. As suggested from band splitting observed in the Raman spectra, the [512]-type cages (one crystallographically unique in Fd{\overline 3}m, four different in A2/n) entrap the hydrocarbon species (CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10). The [51264]-type cage was found to be unique in both structure types. It contains the larger hydrocarbon molecules C2H6, C3H8 and i-C4H10

First evidence of P21/n to P21/c structural transformation in pyroxene-type LiAlGe2O6 under high-pressure conditions

Abstract The high-pressure behaviour of the pyroxene-type compound LiAlGe2O6, the unique representative of a P21/n-pyroxene, was investigated by in-situ X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy on single-crystal samples hydrostatically pressurized in a diamond-anvil cell. The structure was found to undergo a first-order phase transition on compression, with a critical transition at 5.23 \ub1 0.02 GPa. Together with a strong volume discontinuity of -DV/V0 = -4.1% the transition shows a remarkable hysteresis loop over at least 0.70 GPa pressure interval. The bulk modulus of the lowand high-pressure polymorphs corresponds to K0 = 114(1) and 123(2) GPa, respectively, as described by a 2nd order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state. Based on the systematic extinctions the transition was identified as a P21/n-to-P21/c transformation. The mechanism of structural transformation was identified to be controlled by the stereochemistry of the Li atoms at the M2 site, which changes its coordination number from 5 to 6. The formation of new Li-O bonds involves the co-operative folding of Ge2O6-chains, which explains the anisotropy of axial elasticities and the spontaneous strain across the transformation. Simultaneously the distortion correction of AlO6 units associated with the transition further explains the preference of the P21/c structure under pressure