Temperature effect of the local structure in liquid Sb studied with x-ray absorption spectroscopy.
The temperature dependence of the local structure of liquid Sb has been studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. It is shown that about 10% of the atoms with coordination of 3 and weak Peierls distortion exist in liquid Sb just above its melting point. The Peierls distortion weakens gradually with increasing temperature and vanishes at about 750 degrees C. This structural variation in liquid Sb is different from the normal liquid-liquid phase transition. This work reveals the relationship between the variation in the local structure and the change in the physical properties, such as the electrical resisitvity of liquid Sb, with temperature. The complete agreement between the measured electrical resistivity values during heating and cooling processes suggests that the structural units with the features of a rhombohedron appear above the melting point of Sb during solidification.
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China. qwang@aphy.iphy.ac.cn
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