The pyrite-type high-pressure form of silica.
Silica (SiO2) exhibits extensive polymorphism at elevated pressures. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that a high-pressure form with a pyrite-type structure, denser than other known silica phases, is stable above 268 giga-pascals and 1800 kelvin. The silicon coordination number increases from 6 in the alpha-PbO2-type phase to 6+2 in the pyrite-type phase, leading to a large increase in density by about 5% at the phase transition.
Kuwayama
Yasuhiro
Y
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551, Japan. ykuwayam@geo.titech.ac.jp
Hirose
Kei
K
Sata
Nagayoshi
N
Ohishi
Yasuo
Y