Cubic boron phosphide BP has been studied in situ by X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering up to 55 GPa at 300 K in a diamond anvil cell. The bulk modulus of B0 = 174(2) GPa has been established, which is in excellent agreement with our ab initio ca
lculations. The data on Raman shift as a function of pressure, combined with equation-of-state data, allowed us to estimate the Gruneisen parameters of the TO and LO modes of zinc-blende structure, {gamma}GTO = 1.16 and {gamma}GLO = 1.04, just like in the case of other AIIIBV diamond-like phases, for which {gamma}GTO > {gamma}GLO = 1. We also established that the pressure dependence of the effective electro-optical constant {alpha} is responsible for a strong change in relative intensities of the TO and LO modes from ITO/ILO ~0.25 at 0.1 MPa to ITO/ILO ~2.5 at 45 GPa, for which we also find excellent agreement between experiment and theory.
p-V-T equation of state of superhard boron suboxide B6O has been measured up to 6 GPa and 2700 K using multianvil technique and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. To fit the experimental data, the theoretical p-V-T equation of state has been derived in a
pproximation of the constant value of the Anderson-Gruneisen parameter {delta}T. The model includes bulk modulus B0 =181 GPa and its first pressure derivative B0 = 6 at 300 K; two parameters describing thermal expansion at 0.1 MPa, i.e. a = 1.4x10-5 K-1 and b = 5x10-9 K-2, as well as {delta}T = 6. The good agreement between fitted and experimental isobars has been achieved to the absolute volume changes up to 5% as compared to volume at standard conditions, V0. The fitted thermal expansion at 0.1 MPa is well consistent with the experimental data, as well as with ambient-pressure heat capacity cp, bulk modulus B0 and {delta}T describing its evolution with volume and temperature. The fitted value of Gruneisen parameter {gamma} = 0.85 is in agreement with previous empiric estimations for B6O and experimental values for other boron-rich solids.
During past years, a number of reports have been published on synthesis of tetragonal allotrope of boron, t-B52 phase. However, no unambiguous characterization of the crystal structure has been performed to the present time, while remarkable variatio
n of the a/c lattice-parameter ratio raises strong doubts about its uniqueness. Here the Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure of the high pressure - high temperature boron phase synthesized by a direct solid-state transformation of rhombohedral beta-B106 at 20 GPa and 2500 K has been reported for the first time. Although this boron allotrope belongs to the t-B52 type, its structure can be considered as pseudo-cubic with the a/c ratio of sqr(2).
In the present paper we performed the analysis of available data on structural, thermodynamic and mechanical properties of B6O. Although the compound is known for half a century and has been extensively studied, many properties of this boron-rich sol
id remain unknown or doubtful. Semi-empirical analysis of our experimental and literature data allowed us to choose the best values of main thermodynamic and mechanical characteristics among previously reported data, to predict the thermoelastic equation of state of B6O, and dependence of its hardness on non-stoichiometry and temperature.
