1979/08/15 by L. Cartz, S. R. Srinivasa, Robert J. Riedner +2 · 4 citations
Materials Science · Chemistry · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Boron and Carbon Nanomaterials Research #Inorganic Chemistry and Materials #High-pressure geophysics and materials
paper · doi:10.1063/1.438523
openalex publication_date 1979/08/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/25
The bond lengths and bond angles of orthorhombic black phosphorus have been determined as a function of hydrostatic pressures to 26.6(5) kbar using time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction. We show that the markedly anisotropic compression reported previously results from a large pressure-induced shortening of the van der Waals bonds separating layers of atoms combined with a shear motion within the layers. Covalently bonded chains of atoms along the a direction remain very rigid. The average effective linear compressibility for van der Waals bonds is 1.48(9) ×10−3 kbar−1 while the average effective linear compressibility for covalent bonds is an order of magnitude smaller, 2.6(8) ×10−4 kbar−1.