Pressure-Induced Metallization of Molybdenum Disulfide

X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity measurements of molybdenum disulfide MoS2 are performed at pressures up to 81 GPa in diamond anvil cells. Above 20 GPa, we find discontinuous changes in Raman spectra and x-ray diffraction patterns which provide evidence for isostructural phase transition from 2H(c) to 2H(a) modification through layer sliding previously predicted theoretically. This first-order transition, which is completed around 40 GPa, is characterized by a collapse in the c-lattice parameter and volume and also by changes in interlayer bonding. After the phase transition completion, MoS2 becomes metallic. The reversibility of the phase transition is identified from all these techniques.