Cubic boron phosphide BP has been studied in situ by X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering up to 55 GPa at 300 K in a diamond anvil cell. The bulk modulus of B0 = 174(2) GPa has been established, which is in excellent agreement with our ab initio ca
lculations. The data on Raman shift as a function of pressure, combined with equation-of-state data, allowed us to estimate the Gruneisen parameters of the TO and LO modes of zinc-blende structure, {gamma}GTO = 1.16 and {gamma}GLO = 1.04, just like in the case of other AIIIBV diamond-like phases, for which {gamma}GTO > {gamma}GLO = 1. We also established that the pressure dependence of the effective electro-optical constant {alpha} is responsible for a strong change in relative intensities of the TO and LO modes from ITO/ILO ~0.25 at 0.1 MPa to ITO/ILO ~2.5 at 45 GPa, for which we also find excellent agreement between experiment and theory.
p-V-T equation of state of superhard boron suboxide B6O has been measured up to 6 GPa and 2700 K using multianvil technique and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. To fit the experimental data, the theoretical p-V-T equation of state has been derived in a
pproximation of the constant value of the Anderson-Gruneisen parameter {delta}T. The model includes bulk modulus B0 =181 GPa and its first pressure derivative B0 = 6 at 300 K; two parameters describing thermal expansion at 0.1 MPa, i.e. a = 1.4x10-5 K-1 and b = 5x10-9 K-2, as well as {delta}T = 6. The good agreement between fitted and experimental isobars has been achieved to the absolute volume changes up to 5% as compared to volume at standard conditions, V0. The fitted thermal expansion at 0.1 MPa is well consistent with the experimental data, as well as with ambient-pressure heat capacity cp, bulk modulus B0 and {delta}T describing its evolution with volume and temperature. The fitted value of Gruneisen parameter {gamma} = 0.85 is in agreement with previous empiric estimations for B6O and experimental values for other boron-rich solids.
The 300 K equation of state of cubic (zinc-blende) boron phosphide BP has been studied by in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction with synchrotron radiation up to 55 GPa. The measurements have been performed under quasi-hydrostatic conditions using
a Ne pressure medium in a diamond anvil cell. A fit of the experimental p-V data to the Vinet equation of state yields the bulk modulus B0 of 179(1) GPa with its pressure derivative of 3.3(1). These values are in a good agreement with previous elastic measurements, as well as with semiempirical estimations.
Very recently Leitner et al. [Thermochimica Acta 572 (2013) 1-5] have tried to extract the thermodynamic data of rock-salt ZnO from ab initio and experimental data available in the literature. In this Comment we show that neglecting (i) the strongly
pronounced kinetic features of the pressure-induced phase transition in ZnO at room temperature and (ii) results of calorimetric measurements available in the literature [Russ. Chem. Bull. 59 (2010) 325-328] makes the proposed set of thermodynamic functions completely incorrect.
During past years, a number of reports have been published on synthesis of tetragonal allotrope of boron, t-B52 phase. However, no unambiguous characterization of the crystal structure has been performed to the present time, while remarkable variatio
n of the a/c lattice-parameter ratio raises strong doubts about its uniqueness. Here the Rietveld refinement of the crystal structure of the high pressure - high temperature boron phase synthesized by a direct solid-state transformation of rhombohedral beta-B106 at 20 GPa and 2500 K has been reported for the first time. Although this boron allotrope belongs to the t-B52 type, its structure can be considered as pseudo-cubic with the a/c ratio of sqr(2).
In the present paper we performed the analysis of available data on structural, thermodynamic and mechanical properties of B6O. Although the compound is known for half a century and has been extensively studied, many properties of this boron-rich sol
id remain unknown or doubtful. Semi-empirical analysis of our experimental and literature data allowed us to choose the best values of main thermodynamic and mechanical characteristics among previously reported data, to predict the thermoelastic equation of state of B6O, and dependence of its hardness on non-stoichiometry and temperature.
In the present work we have proposed the method that allows one to easily estimate hardness and bulk modulus of known or hypothetical solid phases from the data on Gibbs energy of atomization of the elements and corresponding covalent radii. It has b
een shown that hardness and bulk moduli of compounds strongly correlate with their thermodynamic and structural properties. The proposed method may be used for a large number of compounds with various types of chemical bonding and structures; moreover, the temperature dependence of hardness may be calculated, that has been performed for diamond and cubic boron nitride. The correctness of this approach has been shown for the recently synthesized superhard diamond-like BC5. It has been predicted that the hypothetical forms of B2O3, diamond-like boron, BCx and COx, which could be synthesized at high pressures and temperatures, should have extreme hardness.
