| dc.description |
The stability of cubic bismuth orthogermanate Bi<sub>4</sub>(GeO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub> is investigated at high pressure (HP) and high temperature (HT) using x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At ambient temperature the compound is found to have a bulk modulus of 48 ± 2 GPa and it undergoes amorphization at 12.5 GPa, whereas in situ laser heating of amorphous sample in a diamond-anvil cell results in re-crystallization. SEM and Raman spectroscopy of the recovered sample suggest an inhomogeneous sample with regions rich and depleted in Ge, suggesting a decomposition of the parent compound. The decomposition products are identified from the x-ray diffraction. These results show that at HP–HT the compound exhibits complex decomposition paths leading to several mixed oxide phases including α-Bi<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, Bi<sub>2</sub>GeO<sub>5</sub>, and Bi<sub>2</sub>Ge<sub>3</sub>O<sub>9</sub>. The observations of pressure-induced amorphization at ambient temperature in this compound and its decomposition into a mixture of daughter phases at HP–HT are discussed in light of a recent model of pressure-induced amorphization and decomposition. |
