Shock-induced phase transitions of α-Ce3Al.

A series of shock compression experiments on hexagonal α-Ce3Al have been carried out using a two-stage light gas gun. No phase transition was observed in the recovered sample shock compressed at 23.5 GPa. However, as the shock pressure was increased to 27.3 GPa, a face-centered cubic Ce3Al phase was detected in the samples recovered at ambient conditions. Furthermore, a Ce2Al phase was found in the 37.1 GPa shocked sample with a space group Fd-3m and lattice parameter a = 8.26(1) Å. These Ce-based alloys may have potential industrial applications due to the heavy-fermion related properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]