High pressure and high temperature phase transitions of FeO

We investigated the phase transitions of FeO at high pressure and high temperature up to 87 GPa and 1730 K by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell (DAC). The results demonstrated that the NaCl-type (B1) structure of FeO undergoes transition to the NiAs-type (B8) structure above 70 GPa at 1600 K. The density increase across this transition is about 2%. Present B1–B8 transition pressure is consistent with the previous shock-induced transition pressure. The relative intensities of diffraction peaks of the B8 phase may suggest a polytype normal/inverse NiAs structure, which has a metallic nature that could promote the oxygen incorporation into the iron-rich core. Transition to the metallic B8 phase above 70 GPa is also consistent with the earlier electrical resistance measurements. The hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ε-phase of Fe coexisted with FeO both at room temperature and high temperatures above 44–87 GPa.