Titanium phosphate displays unusual transformations at high pressure

Scientists at DESY and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ESRF have discovered a new and very unusual form of phosphorus compound. In high-pressure experiments, a team led by Dr. Maxim Bykov from the University of Bayreuth found evidence for a configuration where a central phosphorus atom is bound to five surrounding oxygen atoms (PO5). Such a configuration is very rare and it is the first time that PO5 groups were found in an inorganic phosphate compound. The researchers report their f