- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine

Physical Review B

Reuse & Permissions

It is not necessary to obtain permission to reuse this article or its components as it is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI are maintained. Please note that some figures may have been included with permission from other third parties. It is your responsibility to obtain the proper permission from the rights holder directly for these figures.

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Open Access

Phase transitions and electrical conductivity of selenium disulfide at high pressure

Huixin Hu1, Israel Osmond2, Calum Strain2, Hannah A. Shuttleworth2, Callum R. Stevens2, Andrew Huxley2, Mikhail A. Kuzovnikov2, Federico A. Gorelli1,3,4, Eugene Gregoryanz1,2,3,5 et al.

Miriam Peña-Alvarez2, Philip Dalladay-Simpson1, and Ross T. Howie1,2,*

  • *Contact author: ross.howie@ed.ac.uk
PDF

Phys. Rev. B 113, 214101 – Published 4 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/s6wf-56gj

Abstract

Sulfur and selenium demonstrate one of the most complex behavior under high pressure among all elements of the periodic table. Despite being known to form interchalcogens, the properties of these compounds have not been widely explored in the dense state. Through a series of diamond anvil experiments combined with x-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, and electrical resistance measurements, we explore the properties of selenium disulfide (SeS2) up to pressures of 150 GPa. At ambient pressure, SeS2−I represents a substitutional solid solution of S and Se atoms, forming an eight-membered molecular ring arrangement analogous to γ-S. The band gap of SeS2−I rapidly closes upon compression, and above 27 GPa, there is a transformation to a metallic tetragonal phase (SeS2−III), in which atoms form square helical chains. Upon further compression, we observe a phase sequence from incommensurate modulated SeS2−IV above 59 GPa, transforming to rhombohedral SeS2−V by 116 GPa.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

Supplemental Material

References (46)

  1. R. A. Boudreau and H. M. Haendler, The isostructural γ-sulfur phase of selenium-sulfur, SenS8−n, J. Solid State Chem. 36, 289 (1981).
  2. S. Susarla, T. Tsafack, P. S. Owuor, A. B. Puthirath, J. A. Hachtel, G. Babu, A. Apte, B. I. Jawdat, M. S. Hilario, A. Lerma, H. A. Calderon, F. C. R. Hernandez, D. W. Tam, T. Li, A. R. Lupini, J. C. Idrobo, J. Lou, B. Wei, P. Dai, C. S. Tiwary, et al., High-K dielectric sulfur-selenium alloys, Sci. Adv. 5, eaau9785 (2019).
  3. E. Gregoryanz, V. V. Struzhkin, R. J. Hemley, M. I. Eremets, H.-k. Mao, and Y. A. Timofeev, Superconductivity in the chalcogens up to multimegabar pressures, Phys. Rev. B 65, 064504 (2002).
  4. H. Luo, S. Desgreniers, Y. K. Vohra, and A. L. Ruoff, High-pressure optical studies on sulfur to 121 GPa: Optical evidence for metallization, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 2998 (1991).
  5. V. V. Struzhkin, R. J. Hemley, H.-k. Mao, and Y. A. Timofeev, Superconductivity at 10–17 K in compressed sulphur, Nature (London) 390, 382 (1997).
  6. Y. Akahama, M. Kobayashi, and H. Kawamura, Pressure-induced superconductivity and phase transition in selenium and tellurium, Solid State Commun. 84, 803 (1992).
  7. S. Kometani, M. I. Eremets, K. Shimizu, M. Kobayashi, and K. Amaya, Observation of pressure-induced superconductivity of sulfur, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 66, 2564 (1997).
  8. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/s6wf-56gj for detailed X-ray diffraction results.
  9. D. A. Young, Phase Diagrams of the Elements (University of California Press, Berkeley, 1991), p. 129.
  10. Y. Akahama, M. Kobayashi, and H. Kawamura, Pressure-induced structural phase transition in sulfur at 83 GPa, Phys. Rev. B 48, 6862 (1993).
  11. Y. Akahama, M. Kobayashi, and H. Kawamura, Structural studies of pressure-induced phase transitions in selenium up to 150 GPa, Phys. Rev. B 47, 20 (1993).
  12. P. Rossmanith, W. Häfner, A. Wokaun, and H. Olijnyk, Phase transitions of sulfur at high pressure: Influence of temperature and pressure environment, High Press. Res. 11, 183 (1993).
  13. H. Luo, R. G. Greene, and A. L. Ruoff, β-Po phase of sulfur at 162 GPa: X-ray diffraction study to 212 GPa, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 2943 (1993).
  14. O. Degtyareva, E. Gregoryanz, M. Somayazulu, P. Dera, H.-k. Mao, and R. J. Hemley, Novel chain structures in group VI elements, Nat. Mater. 4, 152 (2005).
  15. O. Degtyareva, E. Gregoryanz, H.-k. Mao, and R. J. Hemley, Crystal structure of sulfur and selenium at pressures up to 160 GPa, High Press. Res. 25, 17 (2005).
  16. O. Degtyareva, E. Gregoryanz, M. Somayazulu, H.-k. Mao, and R. J. Hemley, Crystal structure of the superconducting phases of S and Se, Phys. Rev. B 71, 214104 (2005).
  17. O. Degtyareva, E. R. Hernández, J. Serrano, M. Somayazulu, H.-k. Mao, E. Gregoryanz, and R. J. Hemley, Vibrational dynamics and stability of the high-pressure chain and ring phases in S and Se, J. Chem. Phys. 126, 084503 (2007).
  18. S. M. Arveson, Y. Meng, J. Lee, and K. K. M. Lee, High-pressure melting curve of sulfur up to 65 GPa, Phys. Rev. B 100, 054106 (2019).
  19. C. Hejny, L. F. Lundegaard, S. Falconi, M. I. McMahon, and M. Hanfland, Incommensurate sulfur above 100GPa, Phys. Rev. B 71, 020101(R) (2005).
  20. E. Y. Tonkov and E. G. Ponyatovsky, Phase Transformations of Elements Under High Pressure (CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2004), p. 164.
  21. Y. Ohmasa, I. Yamamoto, M. Yao, and H. Endo, Structure and electronic properties of Te–Se mixtures under high pressure, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 64, 4766 (1995).
  22. C. Hejny and M. I. McMahon, Complex crystal structures of Te-II and Se-III at high pressure, Phys. Rev. B 70, 184109 (2004).
  23. M. I. McMahon, C. Hejny, J. S. Loveday, L. F. Lundegaard, and M. Hanfland, Confirmation of the incommensurate nature of Se–IV at pressures below 70GPa, Phys. Rev. B 70, 054101 (2004).
  24. Y. Akahama, M. Kobayashi, and H. Kawamura, Pressure-induced metallization and structural transition of α-monoclinic and amorphous Se, Phys. Rev. B 56, 5027 (1997).
  25. H.-K. Mao, J. Xu, and P. M. Bell, Calibration of the ruby pressure gauge to 800 kbar under quasi-hydrostatic conditions, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 4673 (1986).
  26. Y. Akahama and H. Kawamura, Pressure calibration of diamond anvil raman gauge to 310 GPa, J. Appl. Phys. 100, 043516 (2006).
  27. S. M. Dorfman, V. B. Prakapenka, Y. Meng, and T. S. Duffy, Intercomparison of pressure standards (Au, Pt, Mo, MgO, NaCl and Ne) to 2.5 Mbar, J. Geophys. Res. 117, B08210 (2012).
  28. N. Hirao, S. I. Kawaguchi, K. Hirose, K. Shimizu, E. Ohtani, and Y. Ohishi, New developments in high-pressure X-ray diffraction beamline for diamond anvil cell at SPring-8, Matter Radiat. Extremes 5, 018403 (2020).
  29. S. Anzellini, A. K. Kleppe, D. Daisenberger, M. T. Wharmby, R. Giampaoli, S. Boccato, M. A. Baron, F. Miozzi, D. S. Keeble, A. Ross, S. Gurney, J. Thompson, G. Knap, M. Booth, L. Hudson, D. Hawkins, M. J. Walter, and H. Wilhelm, Laser-heating system for high-pressure X-ray diffraction at the extreme conditions beamline I15 at Diamond Light Source, J. Synchrotron Radiat. 25, 1860 (2018).
  30. G. Garbarino, M. E. Hanfland, S. Gallego-Parra, A. D. Rosa, M. Mezouar, D. Duran, K. Martel, E. Paplillon, T. Roth, P. Got, and J. Jacobs, Extreme conditions X-ray diffraction and imaging beamline ID15B on the ESRF extremely brilliant source, High Press. Res. 44, 199 (2024).
  31. M. Mezouar, G. Garbarino, S. Bauchau, W. Morgenroth, K. Martel, S. Petitdemange, and H. Bureau, The high flux nano-X-ray diffraction, fluorescence and imaging beamline ID27 for science under extreme conditions on the ESRF extremely brilliant source, High Press. Res. 44, 171 (2024).
  32. C. Prescher and V. B. Prakapenka, DIOPTAS: A program for reduction of two-dimensional X-ray diffraction data and data exploration, High Press. Res. 35, 223 (2015).
  33. W. Kraus and G. Nolze, POWDER CELL– A program for the representation and manipulation of crystal structures and calculation of the resulting X-ray powder patterns, J. Appl. Crystallogr. 29, 301 (1996).
  34. J. Rodríguez-Carvajal, Recent advances in magnetic structure determination by neutron powder diffraction, Physica B 192, 55 (1993).
  35. J. Tauc, in Optical Properties of Solids, edited by F. Abellès (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1972), p. 277.
  36. L. van der Pauw, A method of measuring specific resistivity and Hall effect of discs of arbitrary shape, Philips Res. Rep. 13, 1 (1958).
  37. A. C. Gallacher and A. A. Pinkerton, A redetermination of monoclinic γ-sulfur, Acta Crystallograph. Sec. C 49, 125 (1993).
  38. H. Fujihisa, Y. Akahama, H. Kawamura, H. Yamawaki, M. Sakashita, T. Yamada, K. Honda, and T. Le Bihan, Spiral chain structure of high pressure selenium-II' and sulfur–II from powder X-ray diffraction, Phys. Rev. B 70, 134106 (2004).
  39. L. Crapanzano, W. A. Crichton, G. Monaco, R. Bellissent, and M. Mezouar, Alternating sequence of ring and chain structures in sulphur at high pressure and temperature, Nat. Mater. 4, 550 (2005).
  40. X. Li, X. Huang, X. Wang, M. Liu, G. Wu, Y. Huang, X. He, F. Li, Q. Zhou, B. Liu, and T. Cui, High-pressure dissociation of selenium and tellurium, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 20, 6116 (2018).
  41. O. Moulding, L. J. Conway, I. Osmond, S. Cross, A. Hermann, J. Buhot, and S. Friedemann, Mutual stabilization of charge-density-wave and monoclinic distortion in sulfur at high pressures, Phys. Rev. Res. 5, 043188 (2023).
  42. H. Z. Cummins, Experimental studies of structurally incommensurate crystal phases, Phys. Rep. 185, 211 (1990).
  43. A. Maciel and J. F. Ryan, Observation of coupled amplitude modes in the Raman spectrum of incommensurate Na2CO3, J. Phys. C 14, L509 (1981).
  44. P. Dalladay-Simpson, J. Binns, M. Peña-Alvarez, M.-E. Donnelly, E. Greenberg, V. Prakapenka, X.-J. Chen, E. Gregoryanz, and R. T. Howie, Band gap closure, incommensurability and molecular dissociation of dense chlorine, Nat. Commun. 10, 1134 (2019).
  45. O. Degtyareva, M. V. Magnitskaya, J. Kohanoff, G. Profeta, S. Scandolo, M. Hanfland, M. I. McMahon, and E. Gregoryanz, Competition of charge-density waves and superconductivity in sulfur, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 155505 (2007).
  46. Z. Wu, T. Fedotenko, N. Giordano, and J. Kim, Superconductivity in bcc-selenium under megabar pressure, Sci. Rep. 15, 11604 (2025).

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. B 113, 214101– Published 4 June, 2026
  • Received 25 August 2025
  • Revised 22 January 2026
  • Accepted 10 February 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button
Creative Commons Logo

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation