Pressure-induced disordering and anomalous lattice expansion in La2Zr2O7 pyrochlore

Phys Rev Lett. 2010 Jul 2;105(1):015503. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.015503. Epub 2010 Jun 30.

Abstract

Pressure-induced cation and anion disordering in La2Zr2O7 pyrochlore is quantitatively analyzed by Rietveld refinement of in situ x-ray diffraction patterns, Raman, and infrared measurements. An anomalous lattice expansion and obvious change of the pressure dependence of the vibrational modes occur at ∼10 GPa. The pressure-induced water incorporation in the La2Zr2O7 pyrochlore structure may be related to a previously noted photoelectrochemical effect.