High-pressure β-Sn germanium may transform into diverse metastable allotropes with distinctive nanostructures and unique physical properties via multiple pathways under decompression.However,the mechanism and transit...High-pressure β-Sn germanium may transform into diverse metastable allotropes with distinctive nanostructures and unique physical properties via multiple pathways under decompression.However,the mechanism and transition kinetics remain poorly understood.Here,we investigate the formation of metastable phases and nanostructures in germanium via controllable transition pathways of β-Sn Ge under rapid decompression at different rates.High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals three distinct metastable phases with the distinctive nanostructures:an almost perfect st12 Ge crystal,nanosized bc8/r8 structures with amorphous boundaries,and amorphous Ge with nanosized clusters (0.8–2.5 nm).Fast in situ x-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption measurements indicate that these nanostructured products form in certain pressure regions via distinct kinetic pathways and are strongly correlated with nucleation rates and electronic transitions mediated by compression rate,temperature,and stress.This work provides deep insight into the controllable synthesis of metastable materials with unique crystal symmetries and nanostructures for potential applications.展开更多
基金supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Grant No.11974033)Xuqiang Liu acknowledges support from the National Postdoctoral Foundation Project of China under Grant No.GZC20230215+2 种基金the National Nature Science Foundation of China under Grants No.12404001The XRD measurements at room and high temperatures were performed at the 4W2 HPStation of the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility(BSRF)and beamline 15U1 of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility(SSRF)In situ high-pressure,low-temperature XRD measurements were conducted at sector 16 ID-B,HPCAT of the Advanced Photon Source,and were supported by DOE-NNSA under Award No.DE-NA0001974.
文摘High-pressure β-Sn germanium may transform into diverse metastable allotropes with distinctive nanostructures and unique physical properties via multiple pathways under decompression.However,the mechanism and transition kinetics remain poorly understood.Here,we investigate the formation of metastable phases and nanostructures in germanium via controllable transition pathways of β-Sn Ge under rapid decompression at different rates.High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals three distinct metastable phases with the distinctive nanostructures:an almost perfect st12 Ge crystal,nanosized bc8/r8 structures with amorphous boundaries,and amorphous Ge with nanosized clusters (0.8–2.5 nm).Fast in situ x-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption measurements indicate that these nanostructured products form in certain pressure regions via distinct kinetic pathways and are strongly correlated with nucleation rates and electronic transitions mediated by compression rate,temperature,and stress.This work provides deep insight into the controllable synthesis of metastable materials with unique crystal symmetries and nanostructures for potential applications.