title: Size-dependent amorphization of nanoscale Y2O3 at high pressure.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: HPSynC, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wenge
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Siguo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Bingbing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Stanislav V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Sinogeikin
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gosztola
authors.forename: Guoyin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Russell J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hemley
authors.forename: Wendy L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Ho-Kwang
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Mao