Pressure-induced anomalous phase transformation in nano-crystalline dysprosium sesquioxide

The phase transformation in nano-crystalline dysprosium sesquioxide (Dy2O3) under high pressures is investigated using in situ Raman spectroscopy. The material at ambient was found to be cubic in structure using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, while atomic force microscope (AFM) showed the nano-crystalline nature of the material which was further confirmed using XRD. Under ambient conditions the Raman spectrum showed a predominant cubic phase peak at 374 cm−1, identified as Fg mode. With increase in the applied pressure this band steadily shifts to higher wavenumbers. However, around a pressure of about 14.6 GPa, another broad band is seen to be developing around 530 cm−1 which splits into two distinct peaks as the pressure is further increased. In addition, the cubic phase peak also starts losing intensity significantly, and above a pressure of 17.81 GPa this peak almost completely disappears and is replaced by two strong peaks at about 517 and 553 cm−1. These peaks have been identified as occurring due to the development of hexagonal phase at the expense of cubic phase. Further increase in pressure up to about 25.5 GPa does not lead to any new peaks apart from slight shifting of the hexagonal phase peaks to higher wavenumbers. With release of the applied pressure, these peaks shift to lower wavenumbers and lose their doublet nature. However, the starting cubic phase is not recovered at total release but rather ends up in monoclinic structure. The factors contributing to this anomalous phase evolution would be discussed in detail. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.