Neutron diffraction study of the α- to β-phase transition in BaD₂ under high pressure

We report high-pressure neutron diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy data from the α- (Pnma) to β- (P6₃/mmc) phase transition in BaD₂. The transition was observed at 2.53(5) GPa on pressure increase, and 1.65(5) GPa on pressure decrease, with a relatively narrow 0.20(5) GPa region of phase coexistence. We report the isothermal equations of state for the α-phase at 300 K and the β-phase at both 300 K and 480 K, and have calculated the entropy change through the transition. The Raman data show that a low-energy Ba vibration is seen to soften with applied pressure; DFT calculations suggest that this is predominantly due to an instability in the Ba atoms prior to the first-order transition. The shift in D positions in the high-pressure phase suggest that the Wyckoff 4f-model (where one of the D atoms is split between two sites) is a better fit at lower pressures, but that the model tends towards the Wyckoff 2d-model (where D1 is localised on a single site) with increased pressure. These results are used to discuss implications on the reported increases in ionic-conductivity over the transition.