Crystalline-amorphization-recrystallization structural transition and emergent superconductivity in van der Waals semiconductor SiP under compression

van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors have gained significant attention due to their unique physical properties and promising applications, which are embedded within distinct crystallographic symmetries. Here, we report a pressure-induced crystalline-amorphization-recrystallization transition under compression in binary vdW semiconductor SiP. Upon compression to 52 GPa, bulk SiP undergoes a consecutive phase transition from pristine crystalline to amorphous phase, ultimately to recrystallized phase. By employing synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments in conjunction with high-pressure crystal structure searching techniques, we reveal that the recrystallized SiP hosts a tetragonal structure (space group I4mm) and further transforms partially into a cubic phase (space group \(Fm\bar 3m\) $$Fm\overline{3}m$$ ). Consistently, electrical transport and alternating-current magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate the presence of three superconducting phases, which are embedded in separate crystallographic symmetries—the amorphous, tetragonal, and cubic structures. Furthermore, a high superconducting transition temperature of 12.3 K is observed in its recovered tetragonal phase during decompression. Our findings uncover a novel phase evolution path and elucidate a pressure-engineered structure-property relationship in vdW semiconductor SiP. These results not only offer a new platform to explore the transformation between different structures and functionalities, but also provide new opportunities for the design and exploration of advanced devices based on vdW materials.