Experimental and Theoretical Studies of the Metallic Conductivity in Cubic PbVO3 under High Pressure

The physical properties of the high-pressure (HP) cubic phase of PbVO₃ were investigated on experimental and theoretical bases. Above 3 GPa, PbVO₃ exhibits a structural transition from the tetragonal phase to the cubic phase. Electrical resistivity measurement on a twinned single-crystalline sample under HP showed the metallic conductivity of the HP phase, which was absent in the polycrystalline sample. The observed metallic ground state is in accordance with our theoretical calculations, which also suggest the presence of ferromagnetic ordering in the HP phase. However, the magnetic measurement under HP above the transition pressure did not reveal ferromagnetic behavior. Theoretical calculations produced the magnetic moments of the V ions in the HP phase; thus, this difference can be attributed to a lack of ferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments.