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Eugene Gregoryanz

Publications and source records attributed to Eugene Gregoryanz.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Synthesis of novel transition metal nitrides IrN2 and OsN2.

Two new transition metal nitrides, IrN2 and OsN2, were synthesized at high pressures and temperatures using laser-heated diamond-anvil cell techniques. Synchrotron x-ray diffraction was used to determine the structures of novel nitrides and the equations of states of both the parent metals as well as the newly synthesized materials. The compounds have bulk moduli comparable with those of the traditional superhard materials. For IrN2, the measured bulk modulus [K0 = 428(12) GPa] is second only to that of diamond (K0 = 440 GPa). Ab initio calculations indicate that both compounds have a metal:nitrogen stoichiometry of 1:2 and that nitrogen intercalates in the lattice of the parent metal in the form of single-bonded N-N units.

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Retention of xenon in quartz and Earth's missing xenon.

The reactivity of xenon with terrestrial oxides was investigated by in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction. At high temperature (T > 500 kelvin), some silicon was reduced, and the pressure stability of quartz was expanded, attesting to the substitution of some xenon for silicon. When the quartz was quenched, xenon diffused out and only a few weight percent remained trapped in samples. These results show that xenon can be covalently bonded to oxygen in quartz in the lower continental crust, providing an answer to the missing xenon problem; synthesis paths of rare gas compounds are also opened.

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Melting of dense sodium.

High-pressure high-temperature synchrotron diffraction measurements reveal a maximum on the melting curve of Na in the bcc phase at approximately 31 GPa and 1000 K and a steep decrease in melting temperature in its fcc phase. The results extend the melting curve by an order of magnitude up to 130 GPa. Above 103 GPa, Na crystallizes in a sequence of phases with complex structures with unusually low melting temperatures, reaching 300 K at 118 GPa, and an increased melting temperature is observed with further increases in pressure.

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Novel chain structures in group VI elements.

Recent developments in high-pressure methods and advances in X-ray crystallography have led to a new level of understanding of phase diagrams and structures of materials under pressure. Recently discovered phenomena such as complex phases of alkali metals, incommensurate host-guest structures, and incommensurately modulated structures have rendered obsolete our conventional wisdom about the range of structures possible in the elements. Using new in situ diffraction techniques, we have resolved the long-standing problem of the phase-transition sequence of sulphur in its non-metallic state. We demonstrate that it is very different from that previously proposed, with only two phases stable between 1.5 GPa and 83 GPa (the pressure of metallization), and temperatures from 300 K to 1,100 K. The phases have a triangular chain and a squared chain structure. The same squared chain structure is found in the heavier group VI element selenium.

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New phase diagram of oxygen at high pressures and temperatures.

In situ high P-T Raman measurements and optical observations of solid and fluid oxygen up to 1250 K between 8 and 25 GPa reveal the existence of a new molecular phase eta and strikingly unusual behavior of the melting curve. Three triple points were also identified in the P-T domain of the new phase. The data give a direct measure of the melting curve that greatly extends previous optical investigations. We find the melting temperature is significantly higher than that indicated by the existing phase diagram (e.g., 400 K higher at 25 GPa). Raman measurements in low and high frequency regions reveal the extent of orientational order disorder and persistence of strong intermolecular interactions in the high P-T phases.

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High pressure-temperature Raman measurements of H2O melting to 22 GPa and 900 K.

The melting curve of H(2)O has been measured by in situ Raman spectroscopy in an externally heated diamond anvil cell up to 22 GPa and 900 K. The Raman-active OH-stretching bands and the translational modes of H(2)O as well as optical observations are used to directly and reliably detect melting in ice VII. The observed melting temperatures are higher than previously reported x-ray measurements and significantly lower than recent laser-heating determinations. However, our results are in accord with earlier optical determinations. The frequencies and intensities of the OH-stretching peaks change significantly across the melting line while the translational mode disappears altogether in the liquid phase. The observed OH-stretching bands of liquid water at high pressure are very similar to those obtained in shock-wave Raman measurements.

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Crystal structure of a high-pressure/high-temperature phase of alumina by in situ X-ray diffraction.

Alumina (alpha-Al(2)O(3)) has been widely used as a pressure calibrant in static high-pressure experiments and as a window material in dynamic shock-wave experiments; it is also a model material in ceramic science. So understanding its high-pressure stability and physical properties is crucial for interpreting such experimental data, and for testing theoretical calculations. Here we report an in situ X-ray diffraction study of alumina (doped with Cr(3+)) up to 136 GPa and 2,350 K. We observe a phase transformation that occurs above 96 GPa and at high temperatures. Rietveld full-profile refinements show that the high-pressure phase has the Rh(2)O(3) (II) (Pbcn) structure, consistent with theoretical predictions. This phase is structurally related to corundum, but the AlO(6) polyhedra are highly distorted, with the interatomic bond lengths ranging from 1.690 to 1.847 A at 113 GPa. Ruby luminescence spectra from Cr(3+) impurities within the quenched samples under ambient conditions show significant red shifts and broadening, consistent with the different local environments of chromium atoms in the high-pressure structure inferred from diffraction. Our results suggest that the ruby pressure scale needs to be re-examined in the high-pressure phase, and that shock-wave experiments using sapphire windows need to be re-evaluated.

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Synthesis and characterization of a binary noble metal nitride.

There has been considerable interest in the synthesis of new nitrides because of their technological and fundamental importance. Although numerous metals react with nitrogen there are no known binary nitrides of the noble metals. We report the discovery and characterization of platinum nitride (PtN), the first binary nitride of the noble metals group. This compound can be formed above 45-50 GPa and temperatures exceeding 2,000 K, and is stable after quenching to room pressure and temperature. It is characterized by a very high Raman-scattering cross-section with easily observed second- and third-order Raman bands. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction shows that the new phase is cubic with a remarkably high bulk modulus of 372(+/-5) GPa.

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Raman spectroscopy of hot dense hydrogen.

High P-T Raman measurements of solid and fluid hydrogen to above 1100 K at 70 GPa and to above 650 K in 150 GPa range, conditions previously inaccessible by static compression experiments, provide new insight into the behavior of the material under extreme conditions. The data give a direct measure of the melting curve that extends previous optical investigations by up to a factor of 4 in pressure. The magnitude of the vibron frequency temperature derivative (dnu/dT)(P) increases by a factor of approximately 30 over the measured pressure range, indicating an increase in intrinsic anharmonicity and weakening of the molecular bond.

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