Near-zero thermal expansion in beta-CuZnV2O7 in a large temperature range

We report a new type of near-zero thermal expansion material beta-CuZnV2O7 in a large temperature range from 173 K to 673 K. It belongs to a monoclinic structure (C2/c space group) in the whole temperature range. No structural phase transition is observed at atmospheric pressure based on the x-ray diffraction and Raman experiment. The high-pressure Raman experiment demonstrates that two structural phase transitions exist at 0.94 GPa and 6.53 GPa, respectively. The mechanism of negative thermal expansion in beta-CuZnV2O7 is interpreted by the variations of the angles between atoms intuitively and the phonon anharmonicity intrinsically resorting to the negative Gruneisen parameter.