6533b872fe1ef96bd12d2ffa

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Crystal behavior of potassium bromate under compression.

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description

We report on high-pressure angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction data up to 15 GPa andab initiototal-energy calculations up to 242 GPa for KBrO3. No phase transition was found below 15 Pa in contrast to previously reported data. Its experimental bulk modulus in the quasi-hydrostatic regime isB0= 18.8 (9) GPa with a bulk modulus pressure derivativeB′0= 8.2 (4). However, according to ourab initiocalculations, KBrO3significantly reduces its rhombohedral distortionviasmall cooperative movements of the atoms and the structure progressively approaches the cubic symmetry, where the KBr subarray would adopt a topology similar to that of the corresponding B2-type bromide. This rearrangement of atoms is directly related to the Buerger's mechanism of theB1–B2 phase transition for halides, confirming that cations (second neighbors) do not arrange in an arbitrary way. The O atoms forming the [BrO3] pyramidal units move smoothly with pressure to the center of the [K8] cube faces, where electron localization function calculations present their maxima in otherB2-type compounds, eventually adopting the perovskite-type structure atP≃ 152 GPa. Our data on KBrO3has been compared with chemically substituted isostructural halates, providing new insights on the compressibility of this family of compounds.