High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of dimedone

Abstract

Dimedone (i.e. 5.5-dimethyl-I,3-cyclohexanedione) crystals, C₈HI₁₂O₂, have been studied at high pressures by X-ray diffraction using a Merrill-Bassett diamond-anvil cell. The unit-cell dimensions have been measured to 1.20(5) GPa and the structure has been determined at 0.95(5) GPa. The crystal compressibility is strongly anisotropic and non-linear, relatively strong compressibility of the crystals is observed along the helices of the hydrogen-bonded molecules. Small anomalous changes of the unit-cell dimensions are observed between 0.1 and 50 MPa. The main structural changes are compression of intermolecular contacts, but also an alongation of the O=C bond—accompanied with the compression of the hydrogen bond involving the carbonyl oxygen atom—has been observed. This elongation is consistent with similar effects reported on compression of the hydrogen bonds in 1,3-cyclohexanedione and 2-methyl-1,3-cyclopentanedione. Crystal data for the dimedone structure at 0.95 GPa: monoclinic, P2₁/c, a=9.909(6), b= 6.505(3), c=12.313(6) Å, β=14.51°, V=722.1(5) Å, Z=4, R=0.139 for 336 independent reflections.     

High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of tungsten diselenide

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction was used in conjunction with a diamond anvil cell to investigate the properties of a tungsten diselenide (WSe₂) sample to 35.8 GPa at room temperature. By fitting the pressure-volume data to the third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, the bulk modulus, K_0T, of WSe₂ was determined to be 72±1 GPa with its pressure derivative, , being 4.1±0.1. It was also found that the c-direction of the hexagonal structure is significantly more compressible than the a-direction. No phase transformation was clearly observed in the pressure range of our measurements.     

High-pressure X-ray diffraction studies of organic crystals

Abstract

The high-pressure laboratory X-ray diffraction technique is discussed in a view to its application to structural studies on molecular organic crystals. The signal-to-background ratio and accuracy of intensity measurements can be improved by using relatively big sample crystals and the smallest possible aperture in the gasket. Mechanical properties of the gasket material can be helpful in obtaining optimum experimental conditions when a big sample is mounted in the high-pressure chamber. The accuracy of measurements performed on organic crystals with a Merrill-Bassett cell and a CAD-4 diffractometer are illustrated with the results obtained in the study on the crystals of 1,3-cyclohexanedione at 0.52, 1.14 and 1.90(5) GPa—the structure which undergoes an interesting pressure-induced phase transition.     

High-pressure phases of CuI studied by129I-Mössbauer spectroscopy

The results of an¹²⁹I-Mössbauer study of the high-pressure phases of CuI at 4.2 K and for external pressures up to 71 kbar are reported. The isomer shiftS and the electric quadrupole interactionE _q are found to undergo larges discontinuities at the crystallographic phase-transition pressures of ?18 kbar from zinc-blence to rhombohedral structure and at ?46 kbar from rhombohedral to tetragonal. The pressure coefficients of these hyperfine parameters are significantly different for the three phases (zinc-blende; rhombohedral; tetragonal) dS/dP=?3.3; =+1.5; =2.5×10^?3 mm/s/kbar; dE _q/dP=0.0; =?0.92;=+0.31 Mc/s/kbar. These results cannot be explained in terms of a simple molecular-orbital picture; instead, they reflect pressure-induced variations of the halogen-p/metal-d hybridization in the valence bands of the various phases of CuI.     

High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of 2-methyl 1,3-cyclopentanedione crystals

Abstract

2-Methyl-1, 3-cyclopentanedione (C₆H₈O₂-enol form) crystals have been studied at high pressures to 3.01(5) GPa by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The pressure dependence of the unit-cell dimensions is strongly anisotropic and non-linear, the largest relative changes are observed for & perpendicular to the planes comprising the planar chains of the hydrogen-bonded molecules. The crystal structure has been determined at 1.50, 2.40 and 3.01 GPa. The structure is very stable, the main structural change with pressure is the compression of intermolecular distances including the O … O hydrogen bond—but the position of the molecule in the unit cell remains unchanged. Some systematic changes of the bond lengths (in the limit of statistical significance) can be noted. The structure has been compared with the structures of 1,3-cyclopentanedione and 1,3-cyclohexanedione (enol forms), both undergoing pressure induced phase transitions. The exceptional stability of the 2-methyl- 1,3-cyclopentanedione crystal can be explained on the basis of its structure: energetically favourable orientation of the dipole moments of the molecules of close neighbouring chains. The R-factor/number of unique reflections for the structure determinations at 1.50, 2.40 and 3.01 GPa are 0.103/153,0.093/142 and 0.097/139, respectively. Over 3.01 GPa the unit cell is compressed to less than 84% of its ambient-pressure volume. The root-mean-square displacements of the atoms decreased on average by the factor of 0.75 at 1.50 GPa and 0.74 at 2.40 and 3.01 GPa.     

High-pressure radial X-ray diffraction study of osmium to 58 GPa

Nonhydrostatic compression behavior of osmium (Os) was investigated up to 58.2 GPa using radial X-ray diffraction (RXRD) together with lattice strain theory in a diamond-anvil cell. The apparent bulk modulus of Os derived from RXRD data varies from 262 GPa to 413 GPa, depending on Ψ, the orientation of the diffraction planes with respect to the loading axis. Fitting to the third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state, the RXRD data obtained at Ψ = 54.7° yields a bulk modulus K₀ = 390 ± 6 GPa with pressure derivative K^′ ₀ fixed at 4. The ratio of differential stress to shear modulus t/G ranges from 0.024 to 0.029 at the pressures of 15.7–58.2 GPa. The yield strength was observed to increase with compression and reach the value of 11.7 GPa at the highest pressure. This confirms that Os is the strongest known pure metallic material compared with the reported stiff elemental metals such as W, Mo and Re. It was found that the apparent c/a ratio changed with the nonhydrostatic compression, as well as the orientation Ψ in our experiments. Moreover, the aggregate moduli of Os at high pressure were determined from the RXRD measurements.     

Lattice dynamics in two-photon-excited CdS studied by picosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction

Lattice dynamics and radiative processes in single-crystal cadmium sulfide induced by two-photon excitation with a femtosecond laser are investigated. The development of lattice expansion is directly observed by picosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction. The obtained lattice dynamics are explained on the basis of a thermally induced impulsive-strain model. The model calculation indicates that two- and more-photon absorption processes occur and that reflectivity rapidly increases under laser irradiation. In photoluminescence spectroscopy, the spectra for TW cm⁻² excitation are shifted to lower energy and show an additional shoulder at 2.35 eV. Furthermore, emission due to Fabry-Perot laser modes with self-formed cavities was observed under 11 TW cm⁻² excitation. The discrepancy between carrier densities deduced from the lattice expansion and the PL spectra indicates that the predominant process at a higher carrier density is not radiative recombination, but Auger recombination followed by lattice heating.     

High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of 1T-TaS2

We present a room temperature high-pressure X-ray diffraction study of the layered compound 1T-TaS₂ up to 20 GPa. This material is known to exhibit a variety of structural phase transitions that are ascribed to the stabilization of charge density wave states. It has been recently shown that at pressures larger than 3 GPa and up to 25 GPa, 1T-TaS₂ becomes superconductor below about 5 K. It was suggested that this superconductivity coexists with different CDW states, an hypothesis that can be tested by X-ray diffraction. Our first results at room temperature show that at around 1.9 GPa, the nearly-commensurate (NCCDW) phase transforms into a phase similar to the high temperature incommensurate phase (ICCDW). Above 9 GPa, we show the existence of another IC phase, still discernable up to 20 GPa despite the pressure-induced crystal damage above 13 GPa. These results are consistent with resistivity measurements, but call for a complete exploration of the P–T phase diagram of 1T-TaS₂.     

High-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction study of tremolite and actinolite in various fluids

Pressure-dependent structural and morphological changes of two amphibole minerals, tremolite and actinolite, were investigated up to 7.0 GPa using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction underthree different pressure transmission media (PTM): water (W), CO₂ and silicone oil (SI). The elastic response of tremolite and actinolite are found to be dependent on the PTM used. When using water (W) as PTM, tremolite and actinolite show normal volume contractions with bulk moduli of 74(1) and 78(1) GPa, respectively. When using CO₂ as PTM, we observe the formation of calcite from tremolite above 3.8(1) GPa, whereas actinolite did not show any carbonation reaction. Under silicone oil PTM, we observe modulated volume contraction behaviors in both samples, compared to water and CO₂ PTM, with bulk moduli in the order of 90(1) and 94(4) GPa for tremolite and actinolite, respectively.     

Precipitation in silicon wafers after high temperature preanneal studied by X-ray diffraction methods

We have investigated oxygen precipitation in Czochralski silicon wafers focusing on influence of nucleation temperature and high temperature pre-anneal during common three step treatment. Thick Si wafers were studied mainly by x-ray diffraction in Laue transmission geometry using Mo x-ray tube, but were also compared to reciprocal space maps obtained in Bragg reflection geometry. The analysis of measured diffraction scans in Laue geometry was performed by means of Takagi equations and statistical dynamical theory of diffraction. From the simulated Laue diffraction curves we find the size of the individual defect area and the fraction of strain area volume in the wafer. The results obtained from x-ray diffraction were compared to loss of interstitial oxygen according to infrared absorption spectroscopy and the size of SiO₂ precipitate core was estimated. These techniques are in agreement with transmission electron microscopy images.     

Polymorphism and chevron layer structure of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal studied by X-ray diffraction

We report X-ray diffraction experiments performed on an antiferroelectric compound exhibiting a very rich polymorphism (). The structural study of the unknown phases only allows us to exclude some phenomenological models. The use of oriented planar samples prepared between solid glass plates generate by cooling from the phase a chevron structure of tilted layers already well characterized for the phase. The extensive analysis of the evolution of the chevron structure through the numerous smectic-smectic phase transitions provides some original information in three distinct areas: fundamental data on the important physical parameters in the chevron structure formation, detection of the smectic-smectic phases transition by small change of the chevron structure, and information on the local molecular order induced by the alignment layer (interaction with a rubbed polymer). Received: 13 November 1996 / Received in final form: 19 January 1997 / Accepted: 30 January 1998     

High-pressure phases of silane

High-pressure phases of silane SiH4 are predicted using first-principles electronic structure methods. We search for low-enthalpy structures by relaxing from randomly chosen initial configurations, a strategy which is demonstrated to work well for unit cells containing up to at least ten atoms. We predict that silane will metallize at higher pressures than previously anticipated but might show high-temperature superconductivity at experimentally accessible pressures.     

Structure and dynamics of clean and adsorbate-covered crystal surfaces studied by surface X-ray diffraction

Received: 24 March 1998/Accepted: 21 August 1998     

Structure of metal nanowires in nanoporous alumina membranes studied by EXAFS and X-ray diffraction

The structure of nanowires of different metals grown within nanoporous alumina membranes has been studied by EXAFS, WAXS and high energy X-ray diffraction. Nanowires of gold, silver, copper and iron adopt the lattice structure and bond distances of the bulk metals. Cobalt nanowires on the other hand were composed of a mixture of hcp phase, stable at room temperature, and fcc phase, which in bulk cobalt is normally stable only at high temperatures, in a ratio depending on the pore size. The nanowires are non-continuous but are made of nanocrystallites whose shape and size was found to depend strongly on the metal. All the metals except gold showed the presence of a preferred orientation which was slight in the case of Ag and Cu but much stronger in the case of iron and cobalt nanowires. Received 30 November 2000     

Kapitza conductance of Bi/sapphire interface studied by depth- and time-resolved X-ray diffraction

We present Kapitza conductance measurements of the bismuth/sapphire interface using depth- and time-resolved X-ray diffraction, for Bi film thicknesses ranging from 65 to 284 nm. Our measurements provide complementary information about heat transport in the films; we directly observe the thinnest film to be uniformly heated within 1 ns, whereas the thickest film sustains a large near-surface temperature gradient for several ns. The deduced Kapitza conductance is 1950 W/cm²/K. This value is close to the theoretical prediction using the radiation limit.     

High-pressure study of neptunium and plutonium compounds

Abstract

Neptunium and plutonium monopnictides and monochalcogenides were studied by x-ray diffraction at pressures up to 57 GPa. All of them exhibit structural phase transitions under pressure. The arsenides and tellurides have a CsCl (B2) type high-pressure structure. Sb as an anion favours a tetragonal high-pressure structure. The compressibilities were determined for all of the compounds studied. The results are compared to those obtained for the corresponding thorium and uranium compounds.     

X-ray diffraction analysis and occurrence of multiple phases in Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O superconductors

Starting composition 1112 for Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-oxide yields multiphase super-conductors with the proportion of constituent phases depending sensitively on the annealing temperature. The R-T curves show zero resistivity and the transition corresponding toT _c = 80 K phase prominently. However, indexing of X-ray diffraction peaks reveals presence of 80 K (lowT _c) as well as 108 K (highT _c) phase. The lowT _c phase thus corresponds to the orthorhombic structure with a unit cell ofa = 5.4Å,b = 27 Å andc = 30.56 Å. This is further understood to be composed of a pseudotetragonal cell ofa =b = 5.41 Å. The highT _c phase similarly pertains to the orthorhombic structure withc = 36 Å.