Pressure Effect on the Structural Transition and Suppression of the High-Spin State in the Triple-Layer T;#8242;-La[subscript 4]Ni[subscript 3]O[subscript 8]

We report a comprehensive high-pressure study on the triple-layer T{prime}-La{sub 4}Ni{sub 3}O{sub 8} with a suite of experimental probes, including structure determination, magnetic, and transport properties up to 50 GPa. Consistent with a recent ab inito calculation, application of hydrostatic pressure suppresses an insulator-metal spin-state transition at P{sub c} {approx} 6 GPa. However, a low-spin metallic phase does not emerge after the high-spin state is suppressed to the lowest temperature. For P > 20 GPa, the ambient T{prime} structure transforms gradually to a T-type structure, which involves a structural reconstruction from fluorite La-O{sub 2}-La blocks under low pressures to rock-salt LaO-LaO blocks under high pressures. Absence of the metallic phase under pressure has been discussed in terms of local displacements of O{sup 2-} ions in the fluorite block under pressure before a global T phase is established.