We report the diamond anvil cell (DAC) high pressure powder X-ray diffraction studies on amorphous selenium (a-Se) under truly hydrostatic pressure condition up to 20 GPa. Amorphous selenium exhibits a sharp and irreversible transition to a hexagonal structure at 10.6 ± 0.1 GPa. It is also known that metallization occurs in a-Se around this pressure. Some plausible arguments are provided to suggest that the amorphous to crystalline transition may be driven by metallization.
