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At least 343 records · Page 19

Phase relations of Fe 3 C and Fe 7 C 3 up to 185 GPa and 5200 K: Implication for the stability of iron carbide in the Earth's core

We have investigated phase relations and melting behavior of Fe 3 C and Fe 7 C 3 using X-ray diffraction in a laser-heated diamond cell up to 185 GPa and 5200 K. Our results show that the starting Fe 3 C sample decomposes into a mixture of solid orthorhombic Fe 7 C 3 and hcp-Fe at above 145 GPa upon laser heating and then transforms into Fe-C liquid and solid Fe 7 C 3 at temperatures above 3400 K. Using the intensity of the diffuse scattering as a primary criteria for detecting melting, the experimentally derived liquidus for a bulk composition of Fe 3 C fitted with the Simon-Glatzel equation is T m (K) = 1800 × [1 + (P m -5.7)/15.10 ± 2.55] 1/2.41 ± 0.17 at 24–185 GPa, which is ~500 K higher than the melting curve of iron reported by Anzellini et al. (2013) at Earth's core pressures. The higher melting point and relative stability of Fe 7 C 3 in Fe-rich Fe-C system at Earth's core conditions indicate that Fe 7 C 3 could solidify out of the early Earth's molten core to become a constituent of the innermost inner core.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Hybrid Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with an Advanced Gel Cathode and Stabilized Lithium-Metal Anode

The insulating nature of sulfur, polysulfide shuttle effect, and lithium metal deterioration cause a decrease in practical energy density and fast capacity fade in lithium-sulfur batteries. Here, we present an integrated strategy for the development of hybrid Li-S batteries based on a gel sulfur cathode, a solid electrolyte, and a protective anolyte composed of highly-concentrated salt electrolyte containing mixed additives. The dense solid electrolyte completely blocks polysulfide diffusion, and also makes it possible to investigate the cathode and anode independently. This gel cathode effectively traps the polysulfide active material while maintaining a low electrolyte to sulfur ratio (E/S) of 5.2 mL/g. The anolyte effectively protects the Li metal and suppresses the consumption of liquid electrolyte, enabling stable long-term cycling for over 700 hours in Li symmetric cells. This advanced design can simultaneously suppress the polysulfide shuttle, protect Li metal, and reduce the liquid electrolyte usage. The assembled hybrid batteries exhibit remarkably stable cycling performance over 300 cycles with high capacity. Finally, surface-sensitive techniques were carried out to directly visualize and to probe the interphase formed on the surface of the LAGP pellet, which may help stabilize the solid-liquid interface.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Phase stability of iron germanate, FeGeO 3 , to 127 GPa

The high-pressure behavior of germanates is of interest as these compounds serve as analogs for silicates of the deep Earth. Current theoretical and experimental studies of iron germanate, FeGeO 3 , are limited. Here in this paper, we have examined the behavior of FeGeO 3 to 127 GPa using the laser-heated diamond anvil cell combined with in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Upon compression at room temperature, the ambient-pressure clinopyroxene phase transforms to a disordered triclinic phase [FeGeO 3 (II)] at ~ 18 GPa in agreement with earlier studies. An additional phase transition to FeGeO 3 (III) occurs above 54 GPa at room temperature. Laser-heating experiments (~ 1200–2200 K) were conducted at three pressures (33, 54, and 123 GPa) chosen to cover the stability regions of different GeO 2 polymorphs. In all cases, we observe that FeGeO 3 dissociates into GeO 2 + FeO at high pressure and temperature conditions. Neither the perovskite nor the post-perovskite phase was observed up to 127 GPa at ambient or high temperatures. The results are consistent with the behavior of FeSiO 3 , which also dissociates into a mixture of the oxides (FeO + SiO 2 ) at least up to 149 GPa.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Composition-dependent stability of the medium-range order responsible for metallic glass formation

The competition between the characteristic medium-range order corresponding to amorphous alloys and that in ordered crystalline phases is central to phase selection and morphology evolution under various processing conditions. We examine the stability of a model glass system, Cu–Zr, by comparing the energetics of various medium-range structural motifs over a wide range of compositions using first-principles calculations. Furthermore, we focus specifically on motifs that represent possible building blocks for competing glassy and crystalline phases, and we employ a genetic algorithm to efficiently identify the energetically favored decorations of each motif for specific compositions. These results show that a Bergman-type motif with crystallization-resisting icosahedral symmetry is energetically most favorable in the composition range 0.63 < xCu < 0.68, and is the underlying motif for one of the three optimal glass-forming ranges observed experimentally for this binary system (Li et al., 2008). This work establishes an energy-based methodology to evaluate specific medium-range structural motifs which compete with stable crystalline nuclei in deeply undercooled liquids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Impact of Structural Defects and Hydronium Ion Concentration on the Stability of Zeolite BEA in Aqueous Phase

The presence of fluoride anions in the synthesis gel leads to zeolite BEA with high hydrothermal stability. This longer lifetime is caused by a lower concentration of internal silanol defects that are sites of the initial framework hydrolysis eventually destroying the lattice structure. The lifetime of these zeolites was the higher the lower the concentration of framework bridging hydroxyl groups that form hydronium ions was. While lattice hydrolysis was initiated at defect sites in all cases, the role of defects became less important as the concentration of hydronium ions increased. At higher concentration of hydrated hydronium ions, the presence of water associated with the hydrated hydronium ions limits the useful lifetime of zeolite catalysts in water. For such materials, the selective hydrophobization of the external surface extends the lifetime. Acknowledgments: S.P. and M.A.D. acknowledge support by the Materials Synthesis and Simulation Across Scales (MS3 Initiative) conducted under Laboratory Directed Research & Development Program at PNNL. H.S. and H.W. were supported by the Chemical Transformation Initiative (CTI) conducted under Laboratory Directed Research & Development Program at PNNL. J.A.L. was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

Prodinger, Sebastian↗