Metallization in the molten and solid state and phase diagrams of the GeSe2 and GeS2 under high pressure

We found that under high pressure, the GeSe2 and GeS2 melts pass into the metallic state. In the vicinity of the melting curves, their metallization begins at 3.5 and 7 GPa, respectively. The position of the semiconductor-metal transition line on the phase diagram for GeSe2 liquid is established. The GeS2-II and GeSe2-III high-pressure crystalline modifications are semiconductors, whereas the GeSe2-III modification at pressures exceeding 3.5–4 GPa is a metal (σ ≈ 103 Ω−1 cm−1). The (P, T) phase diagrams for these compounds are constructed in the pressure range up to 10 GPa. Metallization during the GeSe2-II-GeSe2-III transition is evidently responsible for the small jump of entropy and the corresponding almost vertical slope of the transition line.