Search

In situ synchrotron angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction experiments on niobium powders have been conducted at pressures up to 61 GPa and room temperature using the diamond anvil cell technique. From the full width at half maximum of the measured diffraction lines, the yield strength was derived with the line-width analysis theory. The niobium powder sample was found to be compressed more packed firstly and then yielded at ∼14 GPa–18 GPa. Following an initial increase in the yield strength with pressure, an obvious decrease was observed occurring at ∼42 GPa–47 GPa accompanying with a typical pressure dependence above 47 GPa. The experimentally observed anomalous softening of the yield strength in niobium surprisingly follows the trend of the predicted unusual softening in the shear modulus by the recent theoretical investigations. The possible mechanisms, applicable to interpret the yield strength softening of materials at high pressure, were also discussed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-pressure polymorphs and structural transformation of Sn were experimentally investigated using angle-dispersive synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 108.9 GPa. The results show that at least at 12.8 GPa β-Sn→bct structure transformation was completed and no two-phase coexistence was found. By using a long-wavelength x-ray, we resolved the diffraction peaks splitting and discovered the formation of a new distorted orthorhombic structure bco from the bct structure at 31.8 GPa. The variation of the lattice parameters and their ratios with pressure further validate the observation of the bco polymorph. The bcc structure appears at 40.9 GPa and coexists with the bco phase throughout a wide pressure range of 40.9 GPa–73.1 GPa. Above 73.1 GPa, only the bcc polymorph is observed. The systematically experimental investigation confirms the phase transition sequence of Sn as β-Sn→bct→bco→bco+bcc→bcc upon compression to 108.9 GPa at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a widely used pressure calibrator, the structural phase transitions of bismuth from phase I, to phase II, to phase III, and then to phase V with increasing pressure at 300 K have been widely confirmed. However, there are different structural versions for phase III, most of which are determined by x-ray diffraction (XRD) technology. Using x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements combined with ab initio calculations, we show that the proposed incommensurate composite structure of bismuth of the three configurations is the best option. An abnormal continuous increase of the nearest-neighbor distance of phase III with elevated pressure is also observed. The electronic structure transformation from semimetal to metal is responsible for the complex behavior of structure transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]