Among the group IV elements, only carbon forms stable double bonds with oxygen at ambient conditions. At variance with silica and germania, the non-molecular single-bonded crystalline form of carbon dioxide, phase V, only exists at high pressure1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The amorphous forms of silica (a-SiO2) and germania (a-GeO2) are well known at ambient conditions; however, the amorphous, non-molecular form of CO2 has so far been described only as a result of first-principles simulations9. Here we report the synthesis of an amorphous, silica-like form of carbon dioxide, a-CO2, which we call 'a-carbonia'. The compression of the molecular phase III of CO2 between 40 and 48 GPa at room temperature initiated the transformation to the non-molecular amorphous phase. Infrared spectra measured at temperatures up to 680 K show the progressive formation of C–O single bonds and the simultaneous disappearance of all molecular signatures. Furthermore, state-of-the-art Raman and synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements on temperature-quenched samples confirm the amorphous character of the material. Comparison with vibrational and diffraction data for a-SiO2 and a-GeO2, as well as with the structure factor calculated for the a-CO2 sample obtained by first-principles molecular dynamics9, shows that a-CO2 is structurally homologous to the other group IV dioxide glasses. We therefore conclude that the class of archetypal network-forming disordered systems, including a-SiO2, a-GeO2 and water, must be extended to include a-CO2.
Carbonia: the amorphous silicalike carbon dioxide / M., Santoro; F. A., Gorelli; R., Bini; Ruocco, Giancarlo; S., Scandolo; AND W., Crichton. - In: NATURE. - ISSN 0028-0836. - STAMPA. - 441:(2006), pp. 857-861. [10.1038/nature04879]
Carbonia: the amorphous silicalike carbon dioxide.
RUOCCO, Giancarlo;
2006
Abstract
Among the group IV elements, only carbon forms stable double bonds with oxygen at ambient conditions. At variance with silica and germania, the non-molecular single-bonded crystalline form of carbon dioxide, phase V, only exists at high pressure1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. The amorphous forms of silica (a-SiO2) and germania (a-GeO2) are well known at ambient conditions; however, the amorphous, non-molecular form of CO2 has so far been described only as a result of first-principles simulations9. Here we report the synthesis of an amorphous, silica-like form of carbon dioxide, a-CO2, which we call 'a-carbonia'. The compression of the molecular phase III of CO2 between 40 and 48 GPa at room temperature initiated the transformation to the non-molecular amorphous phase. Infrared spectra measured at temperatures up to 680 K show the progressive formation of C–O single bonds and the simultaneous disappearance of all molecular signatures. Furthermore, state-of-the-art Raman and synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements on temperature-quenched samples confirm the amorphous character of the material. Comparison with vibrational and diffraction data for a-SiO2 and a-GeO2, as well as with the structure factor calculated for the a-CO2 sample obtained by first-principles molecular dynamics9, shows that a-CO2 is structurally homologous to the other group IV dioxide glasses. We therefore conclude that the class of archetypal network-forming disordered systems, including a-SiO2, a-GeO2 and water, must be extended to include a-CO2.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.