corner
corner

Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 105702 (2010) [4 pages]

Origin of Pressure-Induced Polyamorphism in Ce75Al25 Metallic Glass

Download: PDF (1,100 kB) Buy this article Export: BibTeX or EndNote (RIS)

Qiao-shi Zeng1,2, Yang Ding2, Wendy L. Mao1,3,4,5, Wenge Yang2,6, Stas. V. Sinogeikin6, Jinfu Shu7, Ho-kwang Mao1,2,6,7, and J. Z. Jiang1,*
1International Center for New-Structured Materials and Laboratory of New-Structured Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
2HPSynC, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
3Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA
4Photon Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
5Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
6HPCAT, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Argonne, Illinois 60439, USA
7Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. 20015, USA

Received 29 December 2009; revised 29 January 2010; published 11 March 2010

Using high-pressure synchrotron x-ray absorption spectroscopy, we observed the Ce 4f electron in Ce75Al25 metallic glass transform from its ambient localized state to an itinerant state above 5 GPa. A parallel x-ray diffraction study revealed a volume collapse of about 8.6%, coinciding with 4f delocalization. The transition started from a low-density state below 1.5 GPa, went through continuous densification ending with a high-density state above 5 GPa. This new type of electronic polyamorphism in densely packed metallic glass is dictated by the Ce constituent, and is fundamentally distinct from the well-established structural polyamorphism in which densification is caused by coordination change and atomic rearrangement.

© 2010 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.105702
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.105702
PACS:
64.70.kj, 61.50.Ks, 71.23.Cq, 81.30.Hd

*jiangjz@zju.edu.cn