What is it about?
Antimony (Sb) is a monatomic example of a phase-change material (PCM), characterized by strong temperature dependence of its crystallization kinetics into a crystal phase with electronic properties differing from the arrested liquid. Using atomistic simulations, we explored the liquid phase of antimony supercooled below the melting temperature, before the onset of crystallization. We revealed that the viscosity increases dramatically during cooling (a phenomenon known as "high fragility"). We then uncovered the first clear signatures of thermodynamic anomalies, including a density maximum and nonmonotonic response functions as a function of temperature, indicative of a "liquid-liquid" phase transition between two competing local structures of the same material.
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Why is it important?
PCMs including antimony are used in nonvolatile memories and neuromorphic computing devices, which are candidate technologies to reduce the burden of data storage and processing. Our findings establish a connection between the liquid-state properties of PCMs and their remarkable ability to combine high amorphous-phase stability with ultrafast crystallization.
Perspectives
This study is an example of how the interplay of electronic and structural properties can induce a rich phase behavior - even in a single-element material!
Flavio Giuliani
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Liquid anomalies and fragility of supercooled antimony, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2026, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2531605123.
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