Pressure induced isostructural phase transition with volume expansion in DyFeO3 orthoferrite

The orthorhombic O and O′ structure phases of ABO3-type perovskites possess the same symmetry and quite different physical properties. In this work, a pressure induced isostructural O′–O phase transition with volume expansion and less distortion in DyFeO3 orthoferrite was experimentally observed and studied by high-pressure x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements. Up to 35.2 GPa, DyFeO3 crystallizes in an orthorhombic Pbnm symmetry structure. With no change in the symmetry group, distinct O′-phase and O-phase were verified below 13.1 GPa and above 15.1 GPa, respectively. Meanwhile, the lattice becomes less distorted and metrically pseudo-cubic on the high-pressure side. The cell volume expands by a step in the intermediate pressure window accompanied by a decrease in spontaneous strain. It is suggested that FeO6 octahedra are more compressible than DyO12 sites under pressure. This work claimed the physical mechanism underlying phonon dynamics and variation of local structure symmetry of DyFeO3, which can be considered as the basic view for RFeO3 perovskites.