Ultralow compressibility silicate without highly coordinated silicon.

The bulk modulus of scheelite-structured ZrSiO(4) is 301.4+/-12.5 GPa, as derived from static compression experiments to 52.5 GPa. It is as stiff as the most incompressible known silicate, SiO(2) stishovite. This high incompressibility indicates that octahedrally coordinated silicon is not required to generate ultrastiff silicates: ZrSiO(4) scheelite is the most incompressible material containing SiO(4) tetrahedra. Its incompressibility is in accord with a semitheoretical relation we derive for the bulk modulus of scheelite-structured materials. Based upon correlations between incompressibility and hardness, scheelite-structured oxides may thus represent a new family of ultrahard materials.