New delta (distorted-bcc) titanium to 220 GPa

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Dec 31;87(27 Pt 1):275503. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.275503. Epub 2001 Dec 10.

Abstract

Structural phase transitions of a 3d transition element, titanium, have been investigated at pressures up to 220 GPa at room temperature using a monochromatic synchrotron x-ray diffraction technique. At 140 GPa, the hexagonal (omega) phase was transformed into an orthorhombic (delta) phase with a distorted bcc structure via an intermediate (gamma) phase, which has recently been proposed by Vohra and Spencer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3068 (2001)]. Both the delta and the gamma phases had a unique zigzag-chain-like structure, which resulted from an orthorhombic distortion. The delta-gamma transition could be explained as a rearrangement of the packing between the zigzag chains.