Pressure-induced phase transitions in rubidium azide: Studied by in-situ x-ray diffraction

We present the in-situ X-ray diffraction studies of RbN3 up to 42.0 GPa at room temperature to supplement the high pressure exploration of alkali azides. Two pressure-induced phase transitions of α-RbN3 → γ-RbN3 → δ-RbN3 were revealed at 6.5 and 16.0 GPa, respectively. During the phase transition of α-RbN3 → γ-RbN3, lattice symmetry decreases from a fourfold to a twofold axis accompanied by a rearrangement of azide anions. The γ-RbN3 was...