Pressure-induced normal-incommensurate and incommensurate-commensurate phase transitions in CrOCl

Title data

Bykov, Maxim ; Bykova, Elena ; Dubrovinsky, Leonid ; Hanfland, Michael ; Liermann, Hanns-Peter ; van Smaalen, Sander:
Pressure-induced normal-incommensurate and incommensurate-commensurate phase transitions in CrOCl.
In: Scientific Reports. Vol. 5 (21 May 2015) . - No. 9647.
ISSN 2045-2322
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep09647

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Abstract in another language

The high-pressure behavior of layered CrOCl is shown to be governed by non-bonded interactions between chlorine atoms in relation to a rigid framework composed of Cr and O atoms. The competition between optimizing intra- and interlayer Cl–Cl distances and the general trend towards denser packing defines a novel mechanism for high-pressure phase transitions of inorganic materials. CrOCl possesses an incommensurate phase for 16–51 GPa. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell provides an accurate description of the evolution of the incommensurate wave with pressure. It thus demonstrates a continuous increase of the amplitude up to 30 GPa, followed by a decrease of the wavelength until a lock-in transition occurs at 51 GPa.