Consequences of pressure-instigated spin crossover in RFeO3 perovskites; a volume collapse with no symmetry modification
High-pressure X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer, and Raman studies in the antiferromagnetic insulators RFeO3 orthorhombic perovskites (R = Pr, Eu, Lu) disclose an unusual phenomena of a reversible first-order isostructural phase transition around 50 GPa concurring with an abrupt ∼ 5% volume decrease. It is shown experimentally that this transformation concurs with, and is driven by, a high-to-low-spin