Room-temperature vibrational properties of multiferroic MnWO4 under quasi-hydrostatic compression up to 39 GPa

The multiferroic manganese tungstate (MnWO4) has been studied by high-pressure Raman spectroscopy at room temperature under quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 39.3 GPa. The low-pressure wolframite phase undergoes a phase transition at 25.7 GPa, a pressure around 8 GPa higher than that found in previous works, which used less hydrostatic pressure-transmitting media. The pressure dependence of the Raman active modes of both the low-and high-pressure phases is reported and discussed comparing with the results available in the literature for MnWO4 and related wolframites. A gradual pressure-induced phase transition from the low-to the high-pressure phase is suggested on the basis of the linear intensity decrease of the Raman mode with the lowest frequency up to the end of the phase transition. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.