We have studied the structural behavior of bismuth phosphate under compression. We performed x-ray powder diffraction measurements up to 31.5 GPa and ab initio calculations. Experiments were carried out on different polymorphs; trigonal (phase I) and monoclinic (phases II and III). Phases I and III, at low pressure (0.2-0.8 GPa), transform into phase II, which has a monazite-type structure. At room temperature, this polymorph is stable up to 31.5 GPa. Calculations support these findings and predict the occurrence of an additional transition from the monoclinic monazite-type to a tetragonal scheelite-type structure (phase IV). This transition was experimentally found after the simultaneous application of pressure (28 GPa) and temperature (1500 K), suggesting that at room temperature the transition might by hindered by kinetic barriers. Calculations also predict an additional phase transition at 52 GPa, which exceeds the maximum pressure achieved in the experiments. This transition is from phase IV to an orthorhombic barite-type structure (phase V). We also studied the axial and bulk compressibility of BiPO4. Room-temperature pressure-volume equations of state are reported. BiPO4 was found to be more compressible than isomorphic rare-earth phosphates. The discovered phase IV was determined to be the less compressible polymorph of BiPO4. On the other hand, the theoretically predicted phase V has a bulk modulus comparable with that of monazite-type BiPO4. Finally, the isothermal compressibility tensor for the monazite-type structure is reported at 2.4 GPa showing that the direction of maximum compressibility is in the (010) plane at approximately 15 (21) degrees to the a axis for the case of our experimental (theoretical) study.
A fully self-consistent density-functional theory (DFT) with improved functionals is used to provide a comprehensive account of structural, electronic, and optical properties of C$_{3}$N$_{4}$ polymorphs. Using our recently developed van Leeuwen-Baerends (vLB) corrected local-density approximation (LDA), we implemented LDA+vLB within full-potential N$^{th}$-order muffin-tin orbital (FP-NMTO) method and show that it improves structural properties and band gaps compared to semi-local functionals (LDA/GGA). We demonstrate that the LDA+vLB predicts band-structure and work-function for well-studied…
More than 20 crystalline and amorphous phases have been reported for ice so far. This extraordinary polymorphism of ice arises from the geometric flexibility of hydrogen bonds and hydrogen ordering, and makes ice a unique presence with its universality in the wide fields of material and earth and planetary science. A prominent unsolved question concerning the diversity is whether a hydrogen-disordered phase of ice transforms into only one hydrogen-ordered phase, as inferred from the current phase diagram of ice, although its possible hydrogen configurations have close energies. Recent experime…
Polymorphism offers rich and virtually unexplored space for discovering novel functional materials. To harness this potential approaches capable of both exploring the space of polymorphs and assessing their realizability are needed. One such approach devised for partially ionic solids is presented. The structure prediction part is carried out by performing local DFT relaxations on a large set of random supperlattices (RSLs) with atoms distributed randomly over different planes in a way that favors cation-anion coordination. Applying the RSL sampling on MgO, ZnO and SnO2 reveals that the result…
Polymorphs are common in nature and can be stabilized by applying external pressure in materials. The pressure/strain can also be induced by the gradually accumulated radiation disorder. However, in semiconductors, the radiation disorder accumulation typically results in the amorphization instead of engaging polymorphism. By studying these phenomena in gallium oxide we found that the amorphization may be prominently suppressed by the monoclinic to orthorhombic phase transition. Utilizing this discovery, a highly oriented single-phase orthorhombic film on the top of the monoclinic gallium oxide…
Silver(II) compounds exhibit powerful oxidizing properties and strong magnetic superexchange. AgSO4 is a rare fluorine-free salt of Ag(II) which found some application in organic chemistry. Here, we report a discovery of a new AgSO4 polymorph (\b{eta}). The distinct nature of the two polytypes of AgSO4 is established using powder x-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy and theoretical calculations. The \b{eta} polymorph crystallizes in the monoclinic system (P21/n) and shows structural similarities with CuSO4. DFT calculations indicate very small differences in the energy of the two polymo…
The two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor indium selenide (InSe) has attracted significant interest due its unique electronic band structure, high electron mobility and wide tunability of its band gap energy achieved by varying the layer thickness. All these features make 2D InSe a potential candidate for advanced electronic and optoelectronic applications. Here, we report on the discovery of new polymorphs of InSe with enhanced electronic properties. Using a global structure search that combines artificial swarm intelligence with first-principles energetic calculations, we identify polymorphs th…
To extend rational materials design and discovery into the space of metastable polymorphs, rapid and reliable assessment of their lifetimes is essential. Motivated by the early work of Buerger (1951), here we investigate the routes to predict kinetics of polymorphic transformations using solely crystallographic arguments. As part of this investigation we developed a general algorithm to map crystal structures onto each other and construct transformation pathways between them. The developed algorithm reproduces reliably known transformation pathways and reveals the critical role that the dissoc…
In this work, we have thoroughly studied the effects of flux composition and temperature on the crystal growth of the BaCu2As2 compound. While Pb and CuAs self-flux produce the well-known α-phase ThCr2Si2-type structure (Z=2), a new polymorphic phase of BaCu2As2 (\b{eta} phase) with a much larger c lattice parameter (Z=10), which could be considered an intergrowth of the ThCr2Si2- and CaBe2Ge2-type structures, has been discovered via Sn flux growth. We have characterized this structure through single-crystal X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning transmission e…
The discovery of new and stable two-dimensional (2D) materials with exotic properties is essential for technological advancement. Inspired by the recently reported penta-PdPSe, we proposed penta-NiPS as a new member of the penta-2D materials based on first-principles calculations. The penta-NiPS monolayer is stable in two polymorphs including the alpha phase with identical structure as penta-PdPSe, and the newly proposed beta phase with rotated sublayers. Comprehensive analysis indicated that both phases are thermodynamically, dynamically, mechanically, and thermally stable. The penta-NiPS is …
The theoretical discovery of new and stable 2D penta materials has stimulated the technological advancement due to the anticipated exotic properties of such structure, including the recent $α$ phase and $β$ phase of penta-NiPS based on first-principles calculations. Inspired by the similarity between the theoretically proposed penta-NiPS and the experimentally synthesized ($α$ phase) of penta-PdPSe, we preposed herein the $β$ phase penta-PdPSe as a new member of the penta-2D materials. Comprehensive analysis indicated that the $β$ phase penta-PdPSe is thermodynamically, dynamically, mechanical…
Water's phase diagram displays enormous complexity with currently 17 experimentally-confirmed polymorphs of ice and several more predicted computationally. For almost 120 years, it has been a stomping ground for scientific discovery and ice research has often been a trailblazer for investigations into a wide range of materials-related phenomena. Here, the experimental progress of the last couple of years is reviewed, and open questions as well as future challenges are discussed. The specific topics include the polytypism and stacking disorder of ice I, the mechanism of the pressure amorphizati…
Accurate molecular crystal structure prediction is a fundamental goal in academic and industrial condensed matter research and polymorphism is arguably the biggest obstacle on the way. We tackle this challenge in the difficult case of the repeatedly studied, abundantly used aminoacid Glycine that hosts still little-known phase transitions and we illustrate the current state of the field through this example. We demonstrate that the combination of recent progress in structure search algorithms with the latest advances in the description of van der Waals interactions in Density Functional Theory…
The expansiveness of compositional phase space is too vast to fully search using current theoretical tools for many emergent problems in condensed matter physics. The reliance on a deep chemical understanding is one method to identify local minima of relevance to investigate further, minimizing sample space. Utilizing machine learning methods can permit a deeper appreciation of correlations in higher order parameter space and be trained to behave as a predictive tool in the exploration of new materials. We have applied this approach in our search for new high temperature superconductors by inc…
Beyond Optimization: Exploring Novelty Discovery in Autonomous Experiments
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory（橡树岭国家实验室纳米相材料科学中心）；Department of Material Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Institute of Science Tokyo（东京科学大学材料与化学技术学院材料科学与工程系）；Physical Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory（太平洋西北国家实验室物理科学部）；University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, University of Tennessee（田纳西大学橡树岭创新研究所，田纳西大学）
Recent advances in theoretical structure prediction methods and high-throughput computational techniques are revolutionizing experimental discovery of the thermodynamically stable inorganic materials. Metastable materials represent a new frontier for studies, since even simple binary non ground state compounds of common elements may be awaiting discovery. However, there are significant research challenges related to non-equilibrium thin film synthesis and crystal structure predictions, such as small strained crystals in the experimental samples and energy minimization based theoretical algorit…
Roadmap for electronic structure, anharmonicity, and electron-phonon calculations in locally disordered inorganic and hybrid halide perovskites
Univ Rennes, INSA Rennes, CNRS, Institut FOTON - UMR 6082（雷恩大学，雷恩国立应用科学学院，法国国家科学研究中心，FOTON研究所）；Computation-based Science and Technology Research Center, The Cyprus Institute（塞浦路斯研究院计算科学与技术研究中心）；Univ Rennes, ENSCR, INSA Rennes, CNRS, ISCR - UMR 6226（雷恩大学，雷恩高等师范学院，雷恩国立应用科学学院，法国国家科学研究中心，ISCR研究所）；Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校奥登计算工程与科学学院）；Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校物理系）
First-Principles Thermodynamic Analysis of Ternary Chalcogenide Phase Change Materials
University of Maryland（马里兰大学）；Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, University of Maryland（马里兰大学电子与应用物理研究所）；Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, University of Maryland（马里兰大学马里兰能源创新研究所）
Synthesis and Structural Analysis of an Emissive Colloidal Argyrodite Nanocrystal: Canfieldite Ag8SnS6
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia（意大利理工大学）；University of Toronto（多伦多大学）；Concordia University（康考迪亚大学）；Momentum Transfer GmbH（Momentum Transfer有限公司）；University of Toronto, Department of Materials Science and Engineering（多伦多大学材料科学与工程系）
Automated experiments in 4D Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy are implemented for rapid discovery of local structures, symmetry-breaking distortions, and internal electric and magnetic fields in complex materials. Deep kernel learning enables active learning of the relationship between local structure and a 4D-STEM based descriptors. With this, efficient and "intelligent" probing of dissimilar structural elements to discover desired physical functionality is made possible. This approach allows effective navigation of the sample in an automated fashion guided by either a pre-determined …
Crystallization of pristine cubic ice from liquid at ambient pressure
University College London（伦敦大学学院）；ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory（ISIS中子与μ子源，科学与技术设施委员会，拉瑟福德阿普尔顿实验室）；Uppsala Universitet（乌普萨拉大学）；University of Oxford（牛津大学）；The University of Manchester（曼彻斯特大学）
研究立方冰 Ic 能否从液态直接形成等问题，通过冷却介孔二氧化硅内水溶液在常压下获得原始立方冰 Ic，利用中子散射技术证明其可重复形成且为唯一稳定晶相，揭示该多晶型物在自然和合成过程中作用更重要。
The study of grain boundary phase transitions is an emerging field until recently dominated by experiments. The major bottleneck in exploration of this phenomenon with atomistic modeling has been the lack of a robust computational tool that can predict interface structure. Here we develop a new computational tool based on evolutionary algorithms that performs efficient grand-canonical grain boundary structure search and we design a clustering analysis that automatically identifies different grain boundary phases. Its application to a model system of symmetric tilt boundaries in Cu uncovers an …
We develop intuitive metrics for quantifying complex nucleating systems under confinement. These are shown to arise naturally from the analysis of the topological ring network, and are amenable for use as order parameters for such systems. Drawing inspiration from qualitative visual inspection, we introduce a general topological criterion for elucidating the ordered structures of confined water, using a graph theoretic approach. Our criterion is based on primitive rings, and reinterprets the hydrogen-bond-network in terms of these primitives. This approach has no a priori assumptions, except t…
Machine learning is rapidly becoming an integral part of experimental physical discovery via automated and high-throughput synthesis, and active experiments in scattering and electron/probe microscopy. This, in turn, necessitates the development of active learning methods capable of exploring relevant parameter spaces with the smallest number of steps. Here we introduce an active learning approach based on co-navigation of the hypothesis and experimental spaces. This is realized by combining the structured Gaussian Processes containing probabilistic models of the possible system's behaviors (h…
Discovery and recovery of crystalline materials with property-conditioned transformers
University College London（伦敦大学学院）；Earth Rover Program（地球漫游者计划）；Queen Mary University of London（伦敦大学玛丽女王学院）；NOMATEN Centre of Excellence, National Centre for Nuclear Research（国家核研究中心NOMATEN卓越中心）
Steering an Active Learning Workflow Towards Novel Materials Discovery via Queue Prioritization
1 Department of Computer Science, University of Chicago；2 Data Science \& Learning Division, Argonne National Laboratory；3 Department of Civil, Materials；Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago
Given the consensus that pressure improves cation order in most of known materials, a discovery of pressure-induced disorder could require reconsideration of order-disorder transition in solid state physics/chemistry and geophysics. Double perovskites Y2CoIrO6 and Y2CoRuO6 synthesized at ambient pressure show B-site order, while the polymorphs synthesized at 6 and 15 GPa are partially-ordered and disordered respectively. With the decrease of ordering degrees, the lattices are shrunken and the crystal structures alter from monoclinic to orthorhombic symmetry. Correspondingly, long-range ferrima…
