Behaviors of Zn₂GeO₄ under high pressure and high temperature

The structural stability of Zn₂GeO₄ was investigated by in-situ synchrotron radiation angle dispersive x-ray diffraction. The pressure-induced amorphization is observed up to 10 GPa at room temperature. The high-pressure and high-temperature sintering experiments and the Raman spectrum measurement firstly were performed to suggest that the amorphization is caused by insufficient thermal energy and tilting Zn–O–Ge and Ge–O–Ge bond angles with increasing pressure, respectively. The calculated bulk modulus of Zn₂GeO₄ is 117.8 GPa from the pressure-volume data. In general, insights into the mechanical behavior and structure evolution of Zn₂GeO₄ will shed light on the micro-mechanism of the materials variation under high pressure and high temperature. (paper)