Pressure-induced structural phase transitions and metallization in cuprous oxide under different hydrostatic environments up to 25.3 GPa

High-pressure vibrational and electrical transport behaviors of cuprous oxide were systematically investigated in a diamond anvil cell through in-situ Raman spectroscopy and electrical conductivity measurements under different hydrostatic environments up to 25.3 GPa. Upon compression, Cu₂O undergoes a series of structural transformations from Cu₂O–I to Cu₂O–Ia to Cu₂O–Ib to Cu₂O–II to Cu₂O–III phases at the respective pressures of 1.7(2), 10.3(2), 12.9(3) and 21.0(2) GPa under non-hydrostatic condition. Meanwhile, the metallization of Cu₂O at 19.5(3) GPa is well characterized by the variable-temperature electrical conductivity experiments. Under hydrostatic condition, the pressure delay of 0.6–1.6 GPa is detected in the phase transitions from Cu₂O–Ia to Cu₂O–Ib to Cu₂O–II to Cu₂O–III phases. Upon decompression, one huge discrepancy is observed in the Raman spectra and electrical conductivity before and after the metallization, which indicates the irreversibility of phase transitions under different hydrostatic environments.