195 research outputs found
Evolutionary search for novel superhard materials: Methodology and applications to forms of carbon and TiO2
We have developed a method for prediction of the hardest crystal structures
in a given chemical system. It is based on the evolutionary algorithm USPEX
(Universal Structure Prediction: Evolutionary Xtallography) and
electronegativity-based hardness model that we have augmented with bond-valence
model and graph theory. These extensions enable correct description of the
hardness of layered, molecular, and low-symmetry crystal structures. Applying
this method to C and TiO2, we have (i) obtained a number of low-energy carbon
structures with hardness slightly lower than diamond and (ii) proved that TiO2
in any of its possible polymorphs cannot be the hardest oxide, its hardness
being below 17 GPa.Comment: Submitted in November 2010; revised in March 2011; resubmitted 24
June 2011; published 12 September 2011. 8 pages, 2 tables, 3 figure
Fe-C and Fe-H systems at pressures of the Earth's inner core
The solid inner core of the Earth is predominantly composed of iron alloyed
with several percent Ni and some lighter elements, Si, S, O, H, and C being the
prime candidates. There have been a growing number of papers investigating C
and H as possible light elements in the core, but the results are
contradictory. Here, using ab initio simulations, we study the Fe-C and Fe-H
systems at inner core pressures (330-364 GPa). Using the evolutionary structure
prediction algorithm USPEX, we have determined the lowest-enthalpy structures
of possible carbides (FeC, Fe2C, Fe3C, Fe4C, FeC2, FeC3, FeC4 and Fe7C3) and
hydrides (Fe4H, Fe3H, Fe2H, FeH, FeH2, FeH3, FeH4) and have found that Fe2C
(Pnma) is the most stable iron carbide at pressures of the inner core, while
FeH, FeH3 and FeH4 are stable iron hydrides at these conditions. For Fe3C, the
cementite structure (Pnma) and the Cmcm structure recently found by random
sampling are less stable than the I-4 and C2/m structures found here. We found
that FeH3 and FeH4 adopt chemically interesting thermodynamically stable
structures, in both compounds containing trivalent iron. The density of the
inner core can be matched with a reasonable concentration of carbon, 11-15
mol.percent (2.6-3.7 wt.percent) at relevant pressures and temperatures. This
concentration matches that in CI carbonaceous chondrites and corresponds to the
average atomic mass in the range 49.3-51.0, in close agreement with inferences
from the Birch's law for the inner core. Similarly made estimates for the
maximum hydrogen content are unrealistically high, 17-22 mol.percent (0.4-0.5
wt.percent), which corresponds to the average atomic mass in the range
43.8-46.5. We conclude that carbon is a better candidate light alloying element
than hydrogen.Comment: Published in Physics-Uspekhi: full text will soon appear at
http://ufn.ru/en/articles/2012/5/c/ (currently, only abstract is available
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