Simple Metals at High Pressure

TL;DR

This paper reviews high-pressure phase transitions in simple elements, analyzing structural changes and trends across main groups, combining experimental findings with theoretical insights.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of phase transition sequences and structural trends in simple metals under high pressure, integrating experimental data with theoretical understanding.

Findings

Identification of common structural trends across main groups

Detailed discussion of experimentally observed phase transitions

Analysis of coordination number changes under pressure

Abstract

In this lecture we review high-pressure phase transition sequences exhibited by simple elements, looking at the examples of the main group I, II, IV, V, and VI elements. General trends are established by analyzing the changes in coordination number on compression. Experimentally found phase transitions and crystal structures are discussed with a brief description of the present theoretical picture.