Systematic first-principles molecular dynamics (MD) simulations with long simulation times (7-13 ps) for phase IV of solid hydrogen using different supercell sizes of 96, 288, 576, and 768 atoms established that the diffusive proton motions process in the graphene-like layer is an intrinsic property and independent of the simulation cell sizes. The present study highlights an often overlook issue in first-principles calculations that long time MD is essential to achieve ergodicity, which is mandatory for a proper description of dynamics of a system. The present results contradict a recent work [Phys. Rev. B 87, 174110 (2013)] in which the analysis was relied on short time slices (1-3 ps).
The recent discovery of phase IV of solid hydrogen and deuterium consisting of two alternate layers of graphenelike three-molecule rings and unbound H2 molecules have generated great interests. However, vibrational nature of phase IV remains poorly understood. Here, we report a peculiar proton transfer and a simultaneous rotation of three molecule rings in graphenelike layers predicted by ab initio variable cell molecular dynamics simulations for phase IV of solid hydrogen and deuterium at pressure ranges of from 250 to 350 GPa and temperature range of from 300 to 500 K. This proton transfer is intimately related to the particular elongation of molecules in graphenelike layers, and it becomes more pronounced with increasing pressure at the course of larger elongation of molecules. As the consequence of proton transfer, hydrogen molecules in graphenelike layers are short lived and hydrogen vibration is strongly anharmonic. Our findings provide direct explanations on the observed abrupt increase of Raman width at the formation of phase IV and its large increase with pressure.
The appropriateness of including Hg among the transition metals has been debated for a long time. Although the synthesis of HgF$_{4}$ molecules in gas phase was reported before, the molecules show strong instabilities and dissociate. Therefore, the transition metal propensity of Hg remains an open question. Here, we propose that high pressure provides a controllable method for preparing unusual oxidation states of matter. Using an advanced structure search method based on first-principles electronic structure calculations, we predict that under high pressures, Hg can transfer the electrons in its outmost $d$ shell to F atoms, thereby acting as a transition metal. Oxidation of Hg to the +4 state yielded thermodynamically stable molecular crystals consisting of HgF$_{4}$ planar molecules, a typical geometry for $d^{8}$ metal centers.
We report a detailed ab initio investigation on hydrogen bonding, geometry, electronic structure, and lattice dynamics of ice under a large high pressure range, including the ice X phase (55-380GPa), the previous theoretically proposed higher-pressure phase ice XIIIM (Refs. 1-2) (380GPa), ice XV (a new structure we derived from ice XIIIM) (300-380GPa), as well as the ambient pressure low-temperature phase ice XI. Different from many other materials, the band gap of ice X is found to be increasing linearly with pressure from 55GPa up to 290GPa, the electronic density of states (DOS) shows that the valence bands have a tendency of red shift (move to lower energies) referring to the Fermi energy while the conduction bands have a blue shift (move to higher energies). This behavior is interpreted as the high pressure induced change of s-p charge transfers between hydrogen and oxygen. It is found that ice X exists in the pressure range from 75GPa to about 290GPa. Beyond 300GPa, a new hydrogen-bonding structure with 50% hydrogen atoms in symmetric positions in O-H-O bonds and the other half being asymmetric, ice XV, is identified. The physical mechanism for this broken symmetry in hydrogen bonding is revealed.
