On polyamorphism of triphenyl phosphite

Abstract

We investigated the glass former triphenyl phosphite by calorimetry, Brillouin scattering, and dielectric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Time-resolved experiments demonstrate the conversion between three distinctly different phases, namely, the supercooled liquid, a recently discovered apparently amorphous phase (glacial phase), and the crystalline phase. The temperature dependencies of the properties provided by the different methods are compared. We find significant molecular motion in the glacial phase. From this we hypothesize that the glacial phase is a different highly viscous liquid or a solid phase with some kind of cooperative relaxation.