No Arabic abstract
A first cobalt boride with the Co:B ratio below 1:1, Co5B16, was synthesized under high-pressure high-temperature conditions. It has a unique orthorhombic structure (space group Pmma, a = 19.1736(12), b = 2.9329(1), and c = 5.4886(2) {AA}, R1 (all data) = 0.037). The material is hard, paramagnetic, with a weak temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility.
Electrotarnsport and magnetic properties of new phases in the system Cr-GaSb were studied. The samples were prepared by high-pressure (P=6-8 GPa) high-temperature treatment and identified by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). One of the CrGa$_2$Sb$_2$ phases with an orthorhombic structure $Iba2$ has a combination of ferromagnetic and semiconductor properties and is potentially promising for spintronic applications. Another high-temperature phase is paramagnetic and identified as tetragonal $I4/mcm$.
Theoretical predictions of pressure-induced phase transformations often become long-standing enigmas because of limitations of contemporary available experimental possibilities. Hitherto the existence of a non-icosahedral boron allotrope has been one of them. Here we report on the first non-icosahedral boron allotrope, which we denoted as {zeta}-B, with the orthorhombic {alpha}-Ga-type structure (space group Cmce) synthesized in a diamond anvil cell at extreme high-pressure high-temperature conditions (115 GPa and 2100 K). The structure of {zeta}-B was solved using single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction and its compressional behavior was studied in the range of very high pressures (115 GPa to 135 GPa). Experimental validation of theoretical predictions reveals the degree of our up-to-date comprehension of condensed matter and promotes further development of the solid state physics and chemistry.
This work demonstrates the effectiveness of the high-pressure method for the production of graphite and diamond with a high degree of boron doping using adamantanecarborane mixture as a precursor. At 8 GPa and $1700 ^{o}C$, graphite is obtained from adamantane $C_{10}H_{16}$, whereas microcrystals of boron-doped diamond (2{div}2.5 at.% of boron) are synthesized from a mixture of adamantane and ortho-carborane $C_{2}B_{10}H_{12}$ (atomic ratio B:C = 5:95). This result shows convincingly the catalytical activity of boron in the synthesis of diamond under high pressure. At pressures lower than 7 GPa, only graphite is synthesized from the adamantane and carborane mixture. Graphitization starts at quite low temperatures (below $1400 ^{o}C$) and an increase in temperature simultaneously increases boron content and the quality of the graphite crystal lattice. Thorough study of the material structure allows us to assume that the substitutional boron atoms are distributed periodically and equidistantly from each other in the graphite layers at high boron concentrations (>1 at.%). The theoretical arguments and model ab initio calculations confirm this assumption and explain the experimentally observed boron concentrations.
X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements, and first-principles calculations are performed to search for the formation of NaCl-hydrogen compound. When NaCl and H$_{2}$ mixture is laser-heated to above 1500 K at pressures exceeding 40 GPa, we observed the formation of NaClH$_{textit{x}}$ with $textit{P}$6$_{3}$/$textit{mmc}$ structure which accommodates H$_{2}$ molecules in the interstitial sites of NaCl lattice forming ABAC stacking. Upon the decrease of pressure at 300 K, NaClH$_textit{x}$ remains stable down to 17 GPa. Our calculations suggest the observed NaClH$_{textit{x}}$ is NaCl(H$_{2}$). Besides, a hydrogen-richer phase NaCl(H$_{2}$)$_{4}$ is predicted to become stable at pressures above 40 GPa.
A filled skutterudite, La$_{0.5}$Rh$_4$Sb$_{12}$, with a lattice constant of 9.284(2) {AA} was synthesized using a high-pressure technique. The electrical resistivity showed semiconducting behavior and the energy gap was estimated to be more than 0.08 eV. Magnetic susceptibility measurements indicated temperature-independent diamagnetism, which originates from Larmor diamagnetism. The electrical properties of this compound are more similar to those of the La$_{0.5}$Rh$_4$As$_{12}$ semiconductor with an energy gap of 0.03 eV than to those of the La$_{0.6}$Rh$_4$P$_{12}$ superconductor.