"Chemical precompression" through introducing impurity atoms into hydrogen has been proposed as a method to facilitate metallization of hydrogen under external pressure. Here we selected Ar(H-2)(2), a hydrogen-rich compound with molecular hydrogen, to explore the effect of "doping" on the intermolecular interaction of H-2 molecules and metallization at ultrahigh pressure. Ar(H-2)(2) was studied experimentally by synchrotron X-ray diffraction to 265 GPa, by Raman and optical absorption spectroscopy to 358 GPa, and theoretically using the density-functional theory. Our measurements of the optical bandgap and the vibron frequency show that Ar(H-2)(2) retains 2-eV bandgap and H-2 molecular units up to 358 GPa. This is attributed to reduced intermolecular interactions between H-2 molecules in Ar(H-2)(2) compared with that in solid H-2. A splitting of the molecular vibron mode above 216 GPa suggests an orientational ordering transition, which is not accompanied by a change in lattice symmetry. The experimental and theoretical equations of state of Ar(H-2)(2) provide direct insight into the structure and bonding of this hydrogen-rich system, suggesting a negative chemical pressure on H-2 molecules brought about by doping of Ar.

Dias and Silvera (Research Article, 17 February 2017, p. 715) report on the observation of the Wigner-Huntington transition to metallic hydrogen at 495 gigapascals at 5.5 and 83 kelvin. Here, we show that the claim of metallic behavior is not supported by the presented data, which are scarce, contradictory, and do not prove the presence of hydrogen in the high-pressure cavity.

The exceptional ability of carbon to form sp(2) and sp(3) bonding states leads to a great structural and chemical diversity of carbon-bearing phases at nonambient conditions. Here we use laser-heated diamond-anvil cells combined with synchrotron x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to explore phase transitions in CaCO3 at P > 40 GPa. We find that postaragonite CaCO3 transforms to the previously predicted P2(1)/c CaCO3 with sp(3)-hybridized carbon at 105 GPa (similar to 30 GPa higher than the theoretically predicted crossover pressure). The lowest-enthalpy transition path to P2(1)/c CaCO3 includes reoccurring sp(2) and sp3 CaCO3 intermediate phases and transition states, as revealed by our variable-cell nudged-elastic-band simulation. Raman spectra of P2(1)/c CaCO3 show an intense band at 1025 cm(-1), which we assign to the symmetric -O stretching vibration based on empirical and first-principles calculations. This Raman band has a frequency that is similar to 20% lower than the symmetric C-O stretching in sp(2) CaCO3 due to the C-O bond length increase across the sp(2)-sp(3) transition and can be used as a fingerprint of tetrahedrally coordinated carbon in other carbonates.

The iron spin transition directly affects properties of lower mantle minerals and can thus alter geophysical and geochemical characteristics of the deep Earth. While the spin transition in ferropericlase has been documented at P similar to 60GPa and 300K, experimental evidence for spin transitions in other rock-forming minerals, such as bridgmanite and post-perovskite, remains controversial. Multiple valence, spin, and coordination states of iron in bridgmanite and post-perovskite are difficult to resolve with conventional spin probing techniques. Optical spectroscopy, on the other hand, can discriminate between high and low spin and between ferrous and ferric iron at different sites. Here we establish the optical signature of low spin Fe3+O6, a plausible low spin unit in bridgmanite and post-perovskite, by optical absorption experiments in diamond anvil cells. We show that the optical absorption of Fe3+O6 in new aluminous phase (NAL) is very sensitive to the iron spin state and may represent a model behavior of bridgmanite and post-perovskite across the spin transition. Specifically, an absorption band centered at similar to 19,000cm(-1) is characteristic of the (T2gT1g)-T-2-T-2 ((2)A(2g)) transition in low spin Fe3+ in NAL at 40GPa, constraining the crystal field splitting energy of low spin Fe3+ to similar to 22,200cm(-1), which we independently confirm by first-principles calculations. Together with available information on the electronic structure of Fe3+O6 compounds, we show that the spin-pairing energy of Fe3+ in an octahedral field is similar to 20,000-23,000cm(-1). This implies that octahedrally coordinated Fe3+ in bridgmanite is low spin at P>similar to 40GPa.

The importance for the global carbon cycle, the P-T phase diagram of CaCO3 has been under extensive investigation since the invention of the high-pressure techniques. However, this study is far from being completed. In the present work, we show the existence of two new high-pressure polymorphs of CaCO3. The crystal structure prediction performed here reveals a new polymorph corresponding to distorted aragonite structure and named aragonite-II. In situ diamond anvil cell experiments confirm the presence of aragonite-II at 35 GPa and allow identification of another high-pressure polymorph at 50 GPa, named CaCO3-VII. CaCO3-VII is a structural analogue of CaCO3-P2(1)/c-1, predicted theoretically earlier. The P-T phase diagram obtained based on a quasi-harmonic approximation shows the stability field of CaCO3-VII and aragonite-II at 30-50 GPa and 0-1200 K. Synthesized earlier in experiments on cold compression of calcite, CaCO3-VI was found to be metastable in the whole pressure temperature range.

Dichalcogenides are known to exhibit layered solid phases, at ambient and high pressures, where 2D layers of chemically bonded formula units are held together by van derWaals forces. These materials are of great interest for solid-state sciences and technology, along with other 2D systems such as graphene and phosphorene. SiS2 is an archetypal model system of the most fundamental interest within this ensemble. Recently, high pressure (GPa) phases with Si in octahedral coordination by S have been theoretically predicted and also experimentally found to occur in this compound. At variance with stishovite in SiO2, which is a 3D network of SiO6 octahedra, the phases with octahedral coordination in SiS2 are 2D layered. Very importantly, this type of semiconducting material was theoretically predicted to exhibit continuous bandgap closing with pressure to a poor metallic state at tens of GPa. We synthesized layered SiS2 with octahedral coordination in a diamond anvil cell at 7.5-9 GPa, by laser heating together elemental S and Si at 1300-1700 K. Indeed, Raman spectroscopy up to 64.4 GPa is compatible with continuous bandgap closing in this material with the onset of either weak metallicity or of a narrow bandgap semiconductor state with a large density of defect-induced, intra-gap energy levels, at about 57 GPa. Importantly, our investigation adds up to the fundamental knowledge of layered dichalcogenides. Published by AIP Publishing.

Thermal conductivity of the lowermost mantle governs the heat flow out of the core energizing planetary-scale geological processes. Yet, there are no direct experimental measurements of thermal conductivity at relevant pressure-temperature conditions of Earth's core-mantle boundary. Here we determine the radiative conductivity of post-perovskite at near core-mantle boundary conditions by optical absorption measurements in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. Our results show that the radiative conductivity of Mg0.9Fe0.1SiO3 post-perovskite (similar to 11 W/m/K) is almost two times smaller than that of bridgmanite (similar to 2.0 W/m/K) at the base of the mantle. By combining this result with the present-day core-mantle heat flow and available estimations on the lattice thermal conductivity we conclude that post-perovskite is at least as abundant as bridgmanite in the lowermost mantle which has profound implications for the dynamics of the deep Earth. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy in concert with first principles calculations we demonstrate the synthesis of stable Xe(Fe; Fe/Ni)(3) and XeNi3 compounds at thermodynamic conditions representative of Earth's core. Surprisingly, in the case of both the Xe-Fe and Xe-Ni systems Fe and Ni become highly electronegative and can act as oxidants. The results indicate the changing chemical properties of elements under extreme conditions by documenting that electropositive at ambient pressure elements could gain electrons and form anions.

The electrical conductivity and Raman spectroscopy measurements have been performed on MoS2 at high pressures up to 80 GPa and variable temperatures down to 5 K. We find that the temperature dependence of the resistance in a mixed phase has an anomaly (a hump) which shifts with pressure to higher temperature. Concomitantly, a different Raman phonon mode appears in the mixed state suggesting that the electrical resistance anomaly may be related to a structural transformation. We suggest that this anomalous behavior is due to a charge-density wave state, the presence of which is indicative for an emergence of superconductivity at higher pressures.

Dense fluid metallic hydrogen occupies the interiors of Jupiter, Saturn, and many extrasolar planets, where pressures reach millions of atmospheres. Planetary structure models must describe accurately the transition from the outer molecular envelopes to the interior metallic regions. We report optical measurements of dynamically compressed fluid deuterium to 600 gigapascals (GPa) that reveal an increasing refractive index, the onset of absorption of visible light near 150 GPa, and a transition to metal-like reflectivity (exceeding 30%) near 200 GPa, all at temperatures below 2000 kelvin. Our measurements and analysis address existing discrepancies between static and dynamic experiments for the insulator-metal transition in dense fluid hydrogen isotopes. They also provide new benchmarks for the theoretical calculations used to construct planetary models.