High-pressure behavior of otavite (CdCO₃)

The high-pressure, room temperature behavior of otavite (CdCO₃) was investigated by angle-dispersive synchrotron radiation powder diffraction up to 40 GPa, Raman spectroscopy up to 23 GPa and quantum mechanical calculations based on density functional theory. The calcite-type structure of CdCO ₃ is stable up to at least ∼19 GPa as shown by Raman spectroscopy. The compression mechanism was obtained from structure refinements against the diffraction data. The quantum mechanical calculations propose a calcite-aragonite phase transition to occur at about 30 GPa. The existence of a pressure-induced phase transition is supported by the Raman and diffraction experiments. Evidence for the transformation is given by broadening of X-ray reflections and external Raman bands starting from about 19 GPa in both experiments.