Structural changes across thermodynamic maxima in supercooled liquid tellurium: A water-like scenario

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 119; no. 28; p. e2202044119
• Main Authors: Sun, Peihao, Monaco, Giulio, Zalden, Peter, Sokolowski-Tinten, Klaus, Antonowicz, Jerzy, Sobierajski, Ryszard, Kajihara, Yukio, Baron, Alfred Q R, Fuoss, Paul, Chuang, Andrew Chihpin, Park, Jun-Sang, Almer, Jonathan, Hastings, J B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 12.07.2022
• Subjects: MATERIALS SCIENCE; Physical Sciences; thermodynamic anomalies; supercooled liquid; two-state model; intermediate-range order; liquid–liquid transition
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2202044119

Liquid polymorphism is an intriguing phenomenon that has been found in a few single-component systems, the most famous being water. By supercooling liquid Te to more than 130 K below its melting point and performing simultaneous small-angle and wide-angle X-ray scattering measurements, we observe clear maxima in its thermodynamic response functions around 615 K, suggesting the possible existence of liquid polymorphism. A close look at the underlying structural evolution shows the development of intermediate-range order upon cooling, most strongly around the thermodynamic maxima, which we attribute to bond-orientational ordering. The striking similarities between our results and those of water, despite the lack of hydrogen-bonding and tetrahedrality in Te, indicate that water-like anomalies may be a general phenomenon among liquid systems with competing bond- and density-ordering.