Abnormal Pressure-Induced Photoluminescence Enhancement and Phase Decomposition in Pyrochlore La Sn O.

La Sn O is a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) material and shows a strong near-infrared fluorescent at ambient pressure and room temperature. By in situ high-pressure research, pressure-induced visible photoluminescence (PL) above 2 GPa near 2 eV is observed. The emergence of unusual visible PL behavior is associated with the seriously trigonal lattice distortion of the SnO octehedra, under which the Sn-O1-Sn exchange angle θ is decreased below 22.1 GPa, thus enhancing the PL quantum yield leading to Sn P → S photons transition. Besides, bandgap closing followed by bandgap opening and the visible PL appearing at the point of the gap reversal, which is consistent with high-pressure phase decomposition, are discovered. The high-pressure PL results demonstrate a well-defined pressure window (7-17 GPa) with flat maximum PL yielding and sharp edges at both ends, which may provide a great calibration tool for pressure sensors for operation in the deep sea or at extreme conditions.