High-pressure X-ray diffraction studies on nanocrystals of the pseudo-vaterite-type borates GdBO3 and YBO3 are herein reported up to 17.4(2) and 13.4(2) GPa respectively. The subsequent determination of the room-temperature pressure-volume equations of state is presented and discussed in the context of contemporary publications which contradict the findings of this work. In particular, the isothermal bulk moduli of GdBO3 and YBO3 are found to be 170(13) and 163(13) GPa respectively, almost 50% smaller than recent findings. Our experimental results provide an accurate revision of the high-pressure compressibility behaviour of GdBO3 and YBO3 which is consistent with the known systematics in isomorphic borates and previous ab initio calculations. Finally we discuss how experimental/analytical errors could have led to unreliable conclusions reported elsewhere.
@article{arxiv.2009.11944,
title = {GdBO$_3$ and YBO$_3$ Nanocrystals under Compression},
author = {Robin Turnbull and Daniel Errandonea and Juan Ángel Sans and Vanesa Paula Cuenca-Gotor and Rosario Isabel Vilaplana and Jordi Ibáñez and Catalin Popescu and Agata Szczeszak and Stefan Lis and Francisco Javier Manjón},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2009.11944},
year = {2020}
}