Novel High-Pressure Yttrium Carbide γ-Y_{4}C_{5} Containing [C_{2}] and Nonlinear [C_{3}] Units with Unusually Large Formal Charges

Changes in the bonding of carbon under high pressure leads to unusual crystal chemistry and can dramatically alter the properties of transition metal carbides. In this work, the new orthorhombic polymorph of yttrium carbide, γ-Y_{4}C_{5}, was synthesized from yttrium and paraffin oil in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell at ∼50  GPa. The structure of γ-Y_{4}C_{5} was solved and refined using in situ synchrotron single-crystal x-ray diffraction. It includes two carbon groups: [C_{2}] dimers and nonlinear [C_{3}] trimers. Crystal chemical analysis and density functional theory calculations revealed unusually high noninteger charges ([C_{2}]^{5.2-} and [C_{3}]^{6.8-}) and unique bond orders (<1.5). Our results extend the list of possible carbon states at extreme conditions.

Synthesis of Ilmenite-type ε-Mn2O3 and Its Properties

In contrast to the corundum-type A₂X₃ structure, which has only one crystallographic site available for trivalent cations (e.g., in hematite), the closely related ABX₃ ilmenite-type structure comprises two different octahedrally coordinated positions that are usually filled with differently charged ions (e.g., in Fe²⁺Ti⁴⁺O₃ ilmenite). Here, we report a synthesis of the first binary ilmenite-type compound fabricated from a simple transition-metal oxide (Mn₂O₃) at high-pressure high-temperature (HP-HT) conditions. We experimentally established that, at normal conditions, the ilmenite-type Mn²⁺Mn⁴⁺O₃ (ε-Mn₂O₃) is an n-type semiconductor with an indirect narrow band gap of E_g = 0.55 eV. Comparative investigations of the electronic properties of ε-Mn₂O₃ and previously discovered quadruple perovskite ζ-Mn₂O₃ phase were performed using X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal an antiferromagnetic ordering in ε-Mn₂O₃ below 210 K. The synthesis of ε-Mn₂O₃ indicates that HP-HT conditions can induce a charge disproportionation in simple transition-metal oxides A₂O₃, and potentially various mixed-valence polymorphs of these oxides, for example, with ilmenite-type, LiNbO₃-type, perovskite-type, and other structures, could be stabilized at HP-HT conditions.

Anharmonic effects on the dynamics of solid aluminium fromab initiosimulations

Two approaches to simulations of phonon properties of solids beyond the harmonic approximation, the self-consistentab initiolattice dynamics (SCAILD) and decoupled anharmonic mode approximation (DAMA) are critically benchmarked against each other and molecular dynamics simulations using a density-functional-theory description of electronic states, and compared to experimental data for fcc aluminium. The temperature-dependence of phonon dispersion and the phonon density-of-states, heat capacity, and the mean atomic displacement for fcc aluminium are examined with these approaches at ambient pressure. A comparison of results obtained with the harmonic approximation to the ones predicted by SCAILD and DAMA reveal a negligible anharmonic contribution to phonon frequencies, a small, but significant influence on heat capacity, and a strong effect on atomic mean-square displacement. The phase space accessed with SCAILD and DAMA is reduced relative to molecular and harmonic lattice dynamics simulations. In particular the DAMA results are in good agreement with displacement amplitudes determined by the Debye-Waller factor in x-ray diffraction experiments.

Paramagnetic-to-Diamagnetic Transition in Dense Liquid Iron and Its Influence on Electronic Transport Properties

The electrical σ and thermal conductivity λ of liquid iron are calculated with spin-polarized density-functional-theory-based simulations over a significant pressure and temperature range using the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. We show that a paramagnetic state is stable in the liquid up to high temperatures at ambient pressure and that the discrepancy between experimental results and spin-degenerate simulations for σ and λ of more than 30% are reduced to within 10% with lower values resulting from the spin-polarized simulations. Along the 3700 K isotherm, we explore the persistence of magnetic fluctuations toward high densities, and beyond 20-50 GPa the liquid becomes diamagnetic, which suggests the existence of a continuous paramagnetic-to-diamagnetic transition. This transition exerts a significant influence on the physical properties of liquid iron, especially on σ and λ, and is potentially of high relevance for dynamo processes in Mercury and Mars.

Spontaneous Charge Carrier Localization in Extended One-Dimensional Systems

Charge carrier localization in extended atomic systems has been described previously as being driven by disorder, point defects, or distortions of the ionic lattice. Here we show for the first time by means of first-principles computations that charge carriers can spontaneously localize due to a purely electronic effect in otherwise perfectly ordered structures. Optimally tuned range-separated density functional theory and many-body perturbation calculations within the GW approximation reveal that in trans-polyacetylene and polythiophene the hole density localizes on a length scale of several nanometers. This is due to exchange-induced translational symmetry breaking of the charge density. Ionization potentials, optical absorption peaks, excitonic binding energies, and the optimally tuned range parameter itself all become independent of polymer length as it exceeds the critical localization length. Moreover, we find that lattice disorder and the formation of a polaron result from the charge localization in contrast to the traditional view that lattice distortions precede charge localization. Our results can explain experimental findings that polarons in conjugated polymers form instantaneously after exposure to ultrafast light pulses.

Compression Behavior of Zr-doped Nanoanatase

The compression behavior of Zr-doped nano anatase Ti0.90Zr0.10O2 synthesized by the sol-gel method was studied using a diamond anvil cell (DAC) up to ~ 13 GPa. The compressibility parallel to the a axis decreases strongly at ~ 4 GPa and other structural parameters also change with pressure. The parameters of the third order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state were fitted to: V0 = 139.6(0) Å3, K0 = 213(9) GPa and K′ = 17.9(2). Ab initio electronic structure simulations indicate that the Zr atoms cluster in the crystal. The effects of chemical substitution as well as of microstructure, especially the crystallite size, on the mechanical properties are discussed.

Electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of liquid Fe alloys at high P and T, and heat flux in Earth's core

Earth's magnetic field is sustained by magnetohydrodynamic convection within the metallic liquid core. In a thermally advecting core, the fraction of heat available to drive the geodynamo is reduced by heat conducted along the core geotherm, which depends sensitively on the thermal conductivity of liquid iron and its alloys with candidate light elements. The thermal conductivity for Earth's core is very poorly constrained, with current estimates based on a set of scaling relations that were not previously tested at high pressures. We perform first-principles electronic structure computations to determine the thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity for Fe, Fe-Si, and Fe-O liquid alloys. Computed resistivity agrees very well with existing shock compression measurements and shows strong dependence on light element concentration and type. Thermal conductivity at pressure and temperature conditions characteristic of Earth's core is higher than previous extrapolations. Conductive heat flux near the core-mantle boundary is comparable to estimates of the total heat flux from the core but decreases with depth, so that thermally driven flow would be constrained to greater depths in the absence of an inner core.

Structural stability of TiO2 at high pressure in density-functional theory based calculations

A new study on the pressure-induced phase transitions of TiO(2) has been performed using all-electron density-functional theory based computations with the projector augmented wave and the linearized augmented plane wave methods considering five experimentally observed structures. The static results yield a picture that is consistent with experiments, i.e., phase transitions with pressure are predicted as rutile --> monoclinic baddeleyite (MI) --> orthorhombic I (OI) --> cotunnite (OII) on compression, and OII --> OI --> MI --> columbite (TiO(2)II) on decompression. The elasticities of these five polymorphs are compared. Except for the baddeleyite structure, which is considerably softer than the other polymorphs, all phases show a zero pressure bulk modulus in the range of 200-240 GPa, consistent with compression results and the single crystal elastic constant; on the basis of these results we can say that the cotunnite phase is not a superhard TiO(2) polymorph as has been suggested previously. We further find that the rutile and columbite structures are energetically very similar, with the columbite structure favored slightly. All polymorphs are predicted as insulating with comparable band gaps (∼1.7-2.3 eV). Crystal field splitting for the Ti 3d electronic states leads to two distinct conduction bands in rutile and TiO(2)II for energies smaller than 8 eV, while there is a single conduction band for the other high pressure structures.

High-pressure behavior of perovskite: FeTiO_{3} dissociation into (Fe_{1-delta},Ti_{delta})O and Fe_{1+delta}Ti_{2-delta}O_{5}

The stability of perovskite-structured materials at high pressure and temperature is of fundamental interest in solid-state physics, chemistry, and the geosciences. As an alternative to decomposition into oxides or transformation of the CaIrO_{3} postperovskite structure, we observe in situ the breakdown of FeTiO_{3} perovskite into a (Fe_{1-delta},Ti_{delta})O + Fe_{1+delta}Ti_{2-delta}O_{5} assemblage beyond 53 GPa and 2000 K. The high-pressure high-temperature phase of Fe_{1+delta}Ti_{2-delta}O_{5} with a new structure (space group C2/c) could be preserved on decompression to 9 GPa, and amorphizes under further pressure release. Our study demonstrates that perovskite-structured materials can undergo chemical changes and form complex oxides with new structures, rather than only transform to denser polymorphs or decompose to simple oxides.

Pressure-induced phase transitions of AX(2)-type iron pnictides: an ab initio study

An investigation into the high-pressure behavior of AX(2)-type iron pnictides was conducted using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation. Our results demonstrate that a phase transition from the marcasite to the CuAl(2) occurs at 108 GPa for FeP(2), at 92 GPa for FeAs(2), and at 38 GPa for FeSb(2), accompanying a semiconductor-to-metal crossover. A linear relationship between bulk moduli and the inverse specific volume is proposed to be B(0) = 17 498/V(0)-45.9 GPa for the marcasite-type phase and B(0) = 31 798/V(0)-67.5 GPa for the CuAl(2)-type phase. According to the observed structural evolutions, we claim that the regular marcasite transforms to the CuAl(2)-type phase and the anomalous marcasite transforms to the pyrite-type phase at high pressures.

Magnetism in dense hexagonal iron

The magnetic state of hexagonal close-packed iron has been the subject of debate for more than three decades. Although Mössbauer measurements find no evidence of the hyperfine splitting that can signal the presence of magnetic moments, density functional theory predicts an antiferromagnetic (afm) ground state. This discrepancy between theory and experiment is now particularly important because of recent experimental findings of anomalous splitting in the Raman spectra and the presence of superconductivity in hexagonal close-packed iron, which may be caused by magnetic correlations. Here, we report results from first principles calculations on the previously predicted theoretical collinear afm ground state that strongly support the presence of afm correlations in hexagonal close-packed iron. We show that anomalous splitting of the Raman mode can be explained by spin-phonon interactions. Moreover, we find that the calculated hyperfine field is very weak and would lead to hyperfine splitting below the resolution of Mössbauer experiments.

Elasticity of iron at the temperature of the Earth's inner core

Seismological body-wave and free-oscillation studies of the Earth's solid inner core have revealed that compressional waves traverse the inner core faster along near-polar paths than in the equatorial plane. Studies have also documented local deviations from this first-order pattern of anisotropy on length scales ranging from 1 to 1,000 km (refs 3, 4). These observations, together with reports of the differential rotation of the inner core, have generated considerable interest in the physical state and dynamics of the inner core, and in the structure and elasticity of its main constituent, iron, at appropriate conditions of pressure and temperature. Here we report first-principles calculations of the structure and elasticity of dense hexagonal close-packed (h.c.p.) iron at high temperatures. We find that the axial ratio c/a of h.c.p. iron increases substantially with increasing temperature, reaching a value of nearly 1.7 at a temperature of 5,700 K, where aggregate bulk and shear moduli match those of the inner core. As a consequence of the increasing c/a ratio, we have found that the single-crystal longitudinal anisotropy of h.c.p. iron at high temperature has the opposite sense from that at low temperature. By combining our results with a simple model of polycrystalline texture in the inner core, in which basal planes are partially aligned with the rotation axis, we can account for seismological observations of inner-core anisotropy.