High-pressure crystallography of rhombohedral PrAlO(3) perovskite.

The evolution of the crystal structure of rhombohedral PrAlO(3) perovskite with pressure has been investigated by single-crystal x-ray diffraction and Raman scattering experiments. The structural evolution as indicated by lattice strains, octahedral tilts, and the distortions of the octahedral AlO(6) and polyhedral PrO(12) groups with increasing pressure, is controlled by the relative compressibilities of the AlO(6) octahedra and the PrO(12) site. Because the AlO(6) octahedra are more compressible than the PrO(12) sites, up to 7.4 GPa the structure evolves towards the high-symmetry cubic phase like any other rhombohedral perovskite. The variation of volume of the rhombohedral phase with pressure can be represented by a third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state with bulk modulus K(0) = 193.0(1.2) GPa and K' = 6.6(4). Above 7.4 GPa the evolution towards a cubic phase is interrupted by a phase transition. Observations are consistent with the assignment of Imma symmetry to the high-pressure phase. Comparison with the low-temperature [Formula: see text] to Imma transition confirms that electronic interactions stabilize the Imma phase.