Shuanglong Chen

Pressure-induced transformation and superhard phase in fullerenes: The effect of solvent intercalation

We studied the behavior of solvated and desolvated C60 crystals under pressure by in situ Raman spectroscopy. The pressure-induced bonding change and structural transformation of C60s are similar in the two samples, both undergoing deformation and amorphization. Nevertheless, the high pressure phases of solvated C60 can indent diamond anvils while that of desolvated C60s cannot. Further experiments suggest that the solvents in the solvated C60 act as both spacers and bridges by forming covalent bonds with neighbors in 3D network at high pressure, and thus, a fraction of fullerenes may preserve the periodic arrangement in spite of their amorphization.

Pressure-induced transformations of onion-like carbon nanospheres up to 48 GPa

Raman spectra of onion-like carbon nanospheres (OCNSs) have been studied under pressure up to 48 GPa. A transformation related to a change from sp(2) to sp(3) bonding of carbons in OCNSs was observed at pressures above 20 GPa. The Raman spectra exhibit some vibrational features similar to those of the theoretically proposed Z-carbon phase of cold-compressed graphite, while the transition pressure is obviously higher than that for graphite. In contrast to the transformations in compressed graphite, interlayer bonds are formed on the nanoscale between buckled layers in OCNSs under pressure due to the concentric configuration, and sp(2)-sp(3) conversion is incomplete even up to 48 GPa. This is confirmed by TEM observations on the decompressed samples. Moreover, the onion-like carbon structure is extremely stable and can be recovered even after a compression cycle to 48 GPa. This high stability, beyond that of other sp(2) carbon materials, is related to the unique onion-like configuration and to the interlayer bonding. The transformed material should have excellent mechanical properties so that it can sustain very high pressure.

Structural transformation of confined iodine in the elliptical channels of AlPO4-11 crystals under high pressure

Iodine molecules confined in the elliptical nanochannels of AlPO4-11 crystals can only rotate in the plane passing through the major axis of the elliptical cross-section due to size confinement. This leads to different dynamic behaviors of iodine from those confined in round channels of AlPO4-5 crystals under ambient conditions. In this work, we use high pressure technology to manipulate the nanoscaled iodine species confined in the elliptical channels of AlPO4-11 crystals. In situ polarized Raman measurements and theoretical simulations have been carried out to study the topological geometry of the confined iodine species upon compression. It was found that the population of iodine chains could significantly increase at the expense of standing iodine molecules under pressure up to 6 GPa, due to the pressure-induced rotation of standing iodine molecules. Besides, the contraction of the host framework along the channel axis favors the formation of iodine chains and strengthens the interaction of neighbouring molecules in a chain, consequently leading to a frequency redshift of the corresponding Raman mode. The different transformation dynamics of the confined iodine in AlPO4-11 crystals upon compression, compared to those in round channels of AlPO4-5 crystals, have been discussed in terms of the unique nanochannels that offer the quasi two-dimensional nanoscaled confinement environment.

High-pressure behavior of bromine confined in the one-dimensional channels of zeolite AlPO4-5 single crystals

We present a joint experimental and theoretical study on the high-pressure behavior of bromine confined in the one-dimensional (1D) nanochannels of zeolite AlPO4-5 (AFI) single crystals. Raman scattering experiments indicate that loading bromine into AFI single crystals can lead to the formation of bromine molecular chains inside the nanochannels of the crystals. High-pressure Raman and X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that high pressure can increase the length of the confined bromine molecular chains and modify the inter- and intramolecular interactions of the molecules. The confined bromine shows a considerably different high-pressure behavior to that of bulk bromine. The pressure-elongated bromine molecular chains can be preserved when the pressure is reduced to ambient pressure. Theoretical simulations explain the experimental results obtained from the Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. Furthermore, we find that the intermolecular distance between confined bromine molecules gradually becomes comparable to the intramolecular bond length in bromine molecules upon compression. This may result in the dissociation of the bromine molecules and the formation of 1D bromine atomic chains at pressures above 24 GPa. Our study suggests that the unique nanoconfinement has a considerable effect on the high-pressure behavior of bromine, and the confined bromine species concomitantly enhance the structural stability of the host AFI single crystals.