Crystal Structures of Titanium, Zirconium, and Hafnium at High Pressures

At high pressures, as determined by x-ray analysis, titanium and zirconium metal have a distorted, body-centered-cubic structure. This phase persists on pressure release. The normal hexagonal close-packed structures are recovered when the metals are heated. An electronic shift must occur in the transition. Hafnium metal showed no such transition.