The Pyrite-Type High-Pressure Form of Silica

Silica (SiO2) exhibits extensive polymorphism at elevated pressures. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that a high-pressure form with a pyrite-type structure, denser than other known silica phases, is stable above 268 giga-pascals and 1800 kelvin. The silicon coordination number increases from 6 in the alpha-PbO2-type phase to 6+2 in the pyrite-type phase, leading to a large increase in density by about 5% at the phase transition.