Structural changes across thermodynamic maxima in supercooled liquid tellurium: a water-like scenario

TL;DR

This study investigates supercooled liquid tellurium, revealing thermodynamic maxima and structural changes similar to water, suggesting liquid polymorphism may be common in systems with competing orderings.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of liquid polymorphism in tellurium through combined scattering measurements, highlighting water-like anomalies in a non-hydrogen-bonded system.

Findings

Thermodynamic maxima observed around 615 K in supercooled tellurium.

Development of intermediate-range order linked to bond-orientational ordering.

Similar anomalies to water suggest a broader phenomenon in liquids with competing orderings.

Abstract

Liquid polymorphism is an intriguing phenomenon which has been found in a few single-component systems, the most famous being water. By supercooling liquid Te to more than 130 K below its melting point and performing simultaneous small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we observe clear maxima in its thermodynamic response functions around 615 K, suggesting the possible existence of liquid polymorphism. A close look at the underlying structural evolution shows the development of intermediate-range order upon cooling, most strongly around the thermodynamic maxima, which we attribute to bond-orientational ordering. The striking similarities between our results and those of water, despite the lack of hydrogen-bonding and tetrahedrality in tellurium, indicate that water-like anomalies may be a general phenomenon among liquid systems with competing bond- and density-ordering.