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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 28, 2026

$Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures$

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures

Published on: October 7, 2013

Structural transition in AuAgTe₄ under pressure.

A V Ushakov¹, S V Streltsov^1,2, D I Khomskii³

¹M.N. Miheev Institute of Metal Physics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, 620108 Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal

|March 1, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Sylvanite (AuAgTe4) undergoes a structural transition under pressure, transforming from a poor metal to a conventional metal. This transition is expected to induce superconductivity, similar to its related compound calaverite (AuTe2).

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Solid State Physics
Computational Chemistry

Background:

Gold (Au) is generally inert, with few known compounds like calaverite (AuTe2), which exhibits superconductivity under specific conditions.
Sylvanite (AuAgTe4), a related mineral, has largely unknown properties, featuring ordered gold and silver ions and distorted tellurium octahedra.
Existing distortions in sylvanite suggest specific valencies for Au (3+) and Ag (1+).

Purpose of the Study:

To theoretically investigate the structural and electronic properties of sylvanite (AuAgTe4) under pressure.
To determine the pressure-induced phase transition and its impact on the material's metallic behavior.
To predict the potential for superconductivity in sylvanite.

Main Methods:

Theoretical study employing computational methods to simulate sylvanite under varying pressure conditions.
Analysis of structural changes, including the geometry of tellurium octahedra and the disappearance of Te-Te dimers.
Examination of electronic structure, focusing on the states at the Fermi energy.

Main Results:

A critical pressure (around 10 GPa) was identified for a structural transition in sylvanite.
Above this pressure, tellurium octahedra around Au and Ag become regular and identical.
Te-Te dimers vanish, and the material transitions from a poor metal to a conventional metal with dominant Te 5p states at the Fermi level.

Conclusions:

The theoretical study predicts a pressure-induced structural and electronic transition in sylvanite (AuAgTe4).
This transition is expected to lead to a more conventional metallic state.
Similar to calaverite (AuTe2), sylvanite is anticipated to become superconducting above the critical pressure.