Reversible phase transition and tunable band gap in zinc telluride induced by acoustic shock exposure

In this study, Zinc Telluride (ZnTe) was subjected to acoustic shock waves with a Mach number of 1.5, transient pressure of 0.59 MPa, and a temperature of 520 K to analyze its stability against shock wave impact. ZnTe was exposed to different shock pulses, such as 100, 200, 300, and 400. The stability was assessed through multiple characterization techniques such as Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Raman spectroscopy, Ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS) analysis, Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The X-ray diffraction pattern revealed a phase transition at 300 shock pulses from cubic (F4̄3m) to cubic (Fm3̄m). Interestingly, at 400 shock pulses, the original cubic (F4̄3m) phase was restored. The Raman spectrum showed the disappearance, intensity variation, and shift of Raman peaks, particularly at 300 shock pulses, which reverted to the original state at 400 pulses, indicating a reversible phase transition. The absorption spectrum exhibited a lower angle shift and a change in band gap from 2.85 eV to 2.63 eV at 300 shock pulses. However, the band gap was reduced to 2.8 eV at 400 shock pulses. The photoluminescence spectrum showed high intensity specifically at 300 shock-loaded conditions. Morphological analysis revealed a change from irregular shapes to plate-like structures at 300 shock pulses. The results confirm that shock waves significantly impact ZnTe, inducing a reversible phase transition.