Pressure-induced metallization and structural phase transition of the Mott-Hubbard insulator TiOBr

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that applying pressure to TiOBr induces a transition from an insulating to a metallic state, accompanied by a structural phase change, as evidenced by optical and x-ray measurements.

Contribution

It provides the first combined optical and structural evidence of pressure-induced metallization and phase transition in TiOBr, a Mott-Hubbard insulator.

Findings

Pressure suppresses transmittance and increases reflectance in TiOBr.

High-pressure phase shows metallic optical features.

Structural phase transition occurs alongside metallization.

Abstract

We investigated the pressure-dependent optical response of the low-dimensional Mott-Hubbard insulator TiOBr by transmittance and reflectance measurements in the infrared and visible frequency range. A suppression of the transmittance above a critical pressure and a concomitant increase of the reflectance are observed, suggesting a pressure-induced metallization of TiOBr. The metallic phase of TiOBr at high pressure is confirmed by the presence of additional excitations extending down to the far-infrared range. The pressure-induced metallization coincides with a structural phase transition, according to the results of x-ray powder diffraction experiments under pressure.