High-pressure phase transformations and isothermal compression in CaTiO3 (perovskite)

A polycrystalline CaTiO₃ (perovskite) was investigated under static pressures up to 38 GPa and temperatures up to 1000°C by using a diamond anvil pressure cell, a YAG laser, and the ruby fluorescence pressure calibration system. In situ x-ray diffraction data reveal that at room temperature, the orthorhombic CaTiO₃(I) transforms into a hexagonal CaTiO₃(II) at ∼ 10 GPa with a volume of change of 1.6%. At 1000°C, the orthorhombic CaTiO₃(I) first transforms into a tetragonal CaTiO₃(III) at 8.5 GPa and then transforms further into a hexagonal CaTiO₃(II′) at ∼ 15 GPa with molar volume changes of 0% and 1.6%, respectively. All three high-pressure polymorphs found in this study are nonquenchable.Isothermal compressibility of the orthorhombic CaTiO₃ was derived from measurements under truly hydrostatic environments (i.e., ⩽ 10.4 GPa). By assuming K^′₀ = 5.6 obtained ultrasonically on SrTiO₃ perovskite, the value of the bulk modulus (K₀) was calculated with the Birch-Murnaghan equation to be 210 ± 7 GPa.