Effects of chemical bonding character on pressure-induced structural changes of liquid metals and semiconductors

Hattori, Takanori   ; Tsuji, Kazuhiko*

We investigate pressure-induced structural changes in liquids of tetrahedrally bonded materials by a synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The liquids show various structural changes, depending on their ionic characters in the chemical bonds. The liquids with a small ionic character, such as GaSb, InSb, InAs, show continuous structural changes over a wide pressure region of about 20 GPa. In contrast, those with a large ionic character, such as CdTe, AgI, show drastic structural changes within a narrow pressure region of 2 GPa. We discuss the effect of the ionicity on the pressure-induced structural changes in liquid and compare the effect with that in the crystalline phases.