Size-dependent amorphization of nanoscale Y2O3 at high pressure.
Y2O3 with particle sizes ranging from 5 nm to 1  μm were studied at high pressure using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy techniques. Nanometer-sized Y2O3 particles are shown to be more stable than their bulk counterparts, and a grain size-dependent crystalline-amorphous transition was discovered in these materials. High-energy atomic pair distribution function measurements reveal that the amorphization is associated with the breakdown of the long-rang order of the YO6 octahedra, while the nearest-neighbor edge-shared octahedral linkages are preserved.
Wang
Lin
L
HPSynC, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
Yang
Wenge
W
Ding
Yang
Y
Ren
Yang
Y
Xiao
Siguo
S
Liu
Bingbing
B
Sinogeikin
Stanislav V
SV
Meng
Yue
Y
Gosztola
David J
DJ
Shen
Guoyin
G
Hemley
Russell J
RJ
Mao
Wendy L
WL
Mao
Ho-Kwang
HK