No Arabic abstract
The effects of high pressure on the crystal structure of orthorhombic (Pnma) perovskite type cerium scandate have been studied in situ under high pressure by means of synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, using a diamond anvil cell. We have found that the perovskite type crystal structure remains stable up to 40 GPa, the highest pressure reached in the experiments. The evolution of unit-cell parameters with pressure has indicated an anisotropic compression. The room-temperature pressure-volume equation of state is obtained from the experiments. From the evolution of microscopic structural parameters like bond distances and coordination polyhedra of cerium and scandium, the macroscopic behavior of CeScO3 under compression has been explained and reasoned for its large pressure stability. The reported results are discussed in comparison with high-pressure results from other perovskites.
Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) of Nd doped phosphate glasses have been studied before and after gamma irradiation in order to find the behavior of chemical bonds, which decide the structural changes in the glass samples. IR absorption spectra of these glasses are found dominated mainly by the characteristics phosphate groups, water (OH) present in the glass network as well as on the composition of glass matrix. The effects of gamma irradiation are observed in the form of bond breaking and possible re-arrangement of the bonding in the glass. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and XPS measurements show changes in the relative concentration of elements; particularly decrease in the concentration of oxygen in the glass samples after gamma irradiation, a possible source of oxygen vacancies. The decrease in the asymmetry in O 1s spectra after gamma irradiation indicates towards decrease in the concentration of bridging oxygen as a result of P-O-P bond breaking. Asymmetric profile of Nd 3d5/2peak after gamma irradiation is found to be due to conversion of Nd3+ to Nd2+ in the glass matrix.
We study the possibility of pressure-induced transitions from a normal semiconductor to a topological insulator (TI) in bismuth tellurohalides using density functional theory and tight-binding method. In BiTeI this transition is realized through the formation of an intermediate phase, a Weyl semimetal, that leads to modification of surface state dispersions. In the topologically trivial phase, the surface states exhibit a Bychkov-Rashba type dispersion. The Weyl semimetal phase exists in a narrow pressure interval of 0.2 GPa. After the Weyl semimetal--TI transition occurs, the surface electronic structure is characterized by gapless states with linear dispersion. The peculiarities of the surface states modification under pressure depend on the band-bending effect. We have also calculated the frequencies of Raman active modes for BiTeI in the proposed high-pressure crystal phases in order to compare them with available experimental data. Unlike BiTeI, in BiTeBr and BiTeCl the topological phase transition does not occur. In BiTeBr, the crystal structure changes with pressure but the phase remains a trivial one. However, the transition appears to be possible if the low-pressure crystal structure is retained. In BiTeCl under pressure, the topological phase does not appear up to 18 GPa due to a relatively large band gap width in this compound.
We present theoretical calculations of the Raman and IR spectra, as well as electronic properties at zero and finite temperature to elucidate the crystal structure of phase III of solid molecular hydrogen. We find that anharmonic finite temperature are particularly important and qualitatively influences the main conclusions. While P6$_3$/m is the most likely candidate for phase III at the nuclear ground state, at finite temperature the C2/c structure appears to be more suitable.
By means of in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy under hydrostatic pressure, we investigate the stability of the quadruple perovskite LaMn7O12. At 34 GPa, the data unveil a first-order structural phase transition from the monoclinic I2/m symmetry stable at ambient conditions to cubic Im-3 symmetry. Considering that the same structural transition occurs at 653 K upon heating at ambient pressure, we propose a rare scenario of reentrant-type phase transition. In the high-pressure Im-3 phase, the Jahn-Teller distortion of the MnO6 octahedra and the orbital order present in the I2/m phase are suppressed, which is promising to investigate the possibility of pressure-induced Mott insulator-metal transition in the ideal situation of no structural distortions. The observation of a progressive line broadening of almost all Raman modes with pressure suggests that this transition may be incipient above 20 GPa.
In order to control and tailor the properties of nanodots, it is essential to separate the effects of quantum confinement from those due to the surface, and to gain insight into the influence of preparation conditions on the dot physical properties. We address these issues for the case of small Ge clusters (1-3 nm), using a combination of empirical and first-principles molecular dynamics techniques. Our results show that over a wide temperature range the diamond structure is more stable than tetragonal, ST12-like structures for clusters containing more than 50 atoms; however, the magnitude of the energy difference between the two geometries is strongly dependent on the surface properties. Based on our structural data, we propose a mechanism which may be responsible for the formation of metastable ST12 clusters in vapor deposition experiments, by cold quenching of amorphous nanoparticles with unsaturated, reconstructed surfaces.