Polymorphic phase transition mechanism of compressed coesite

Q.Y. Hu, J.-F. Shu, A. Cadien, Y. Meng, W.G. Yang, H.W. Sheng () and H.-K. Mao ()
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Q.Y. Hu: Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research
J.-F. Shu: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
A. Cadien: School of Physics, Astronomy and Computational Sciences, George Mason University
Y. Meng: Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington
W.G. Yang: Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research
H.W. Sheng: Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research
H.-K. Mao: Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Silicon dioxide is one of the most abundant natural compounds. Polymorphs of SiO2 and their phase transitions have long been a focus of great interest and intense theoretical and experimental pursuits. Here, compressing single-crystal coesite SiO2 under hydrostatic pressures of 26–53 GPa at room temperature, we discover a new polymorphic phase transition mechanism of coesite to post-stishovite, by means of single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiment and first-principles computational modelling. The transition features the formation of multiple previously unknown triclinic phases of SiO2 on the transition pathway as structural intermediates. Coexistence of the low-symmetry phases results in extensive splitting of the original coesite X-ray diffraction peaks that appear as dramatic peak broadening and weakening, resembling an amorphous material. This work sheds light on the long-debated pressure-induced amorphization phenomenon of SiO2, but also provides new insights into the densification mechanism of tetrahedrally bonded structures common in nature.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7630

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