scholarly journals Stability limits and transformation pathways ofα-quartz under high pressure

2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Y. Hu ◽  
J.-F. Shu ◽  
W. G. Yang ◽  
C. Park ◽  
M. W. Chen ◽  
...  
2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (49) ◽  
pp. 12894-12899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Xuebang Wu ◽  
Yunfeng Liang ◽  
Changsong Liu ◽  
Caetano R. Miranda ◽  
...  

High-pressure single-crystal X-ray diffraction method with precise control of hydrostatic conditions, typically with helium or neon as the pressure-transmitting medium, has significantly changed our view on what happens with low-density silica phases under pressure. Coesite is a prototype material for pressure-induced amorphization. However, it was found to transform into a high-pressure octahedral (HPO) phase, or coesite-II and coesite-III. Given that the pressure is believed to be hydrostatic in two recent experiments, the different transformation pathways are striking. Based on molecular dynamic simulations with an ab initio parameterized potential, we reproduced all of the above experiments in three transformation pathways, including the one leading to an HPO phase. This octahedral phase has an oxygen hcp sublattice featuring 2 × 2 zigzag octahedral edge-sharing chains, however with some broken points (i.e., point defects). It transforms into α-PbO2 phase when it is relaxed under further compression. We show that the HPO phase forms through a continuous rearrangement of the oxygen sublattice toward hcp arrangement. The high-pressure amorphous phases can be described by an fcc and hcp sublattice mixture.


2014 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 1193-1208 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ardit ◽  
G. Cruciani ◽  
M. Dondi ◽  
G. L. Garbarino ◽  
F. Nestola

AbstractThe high-pressure behaviour of the thaumasite structure was investigated using synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, up to 19.5 GPa. Based on Rietveld refinements, thaumasite retained the roompressure P63space group throughout the whole investigated pressure range while the pressure dependence of the refined unit-cell parameters can be cast into three different compression regimes, each corresponding to a different thaumasite phase (th-I, th-II and th-III) related by isosymmetric phase transitions. In particular, the phase transition in the 7.40–15.02 GPa P-range (i.e. from th-II to th-III) is associated with an inversion of the axial bulk moduli which, by analogy with ettringite, can be rationalized as due to a change in the relative strengths of the iono-covalent bonds along the [Ca3Si(OH)6(H2O)12]4+columns parallel to the c axis vs. the O–H bonds linking the columns within the ab plane. The linear inverse relationship between the low- and high-temperature data from the literature with those collected under high-pressure conditions reveals that the same bonding regime governs the anisotropic expansion and contraction of thaumasite up to ~1.4 GPa and 400 K (HP-HT stability limits of th-I phase).


2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 977-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liping Huang ◽  
Murat Durandurdu ◽  
John Kieffer

Author(s):  
Marek Malecki ◽  
James Pawley ◽  
Hans Ris

The ultrastructure of cells suspended in physiological fluids or cell culture media can only be studied if the living processes are stopped while the cells remain in suspension. Attachment of living cells to carrier surfaces to facilitate further processing for electron microscopy produces a rapid reorganization of cell structure eradicating most traces of the structures present when the cells were in suspension. The structure of cells in suspension can be immobilized by either chemical fixation or, much faster, by rapid freezing (cryo-immobilization). The fixation speed is particularly important in studies of cell surface reorganization over time. High pressure freezing provides conditions where specimens up to 500μm thick can be frozen in milliseconds without ice crystal damage. This volume is sufficient for cells to remain in suspension until frozen. However, special procedures are needed to assure that the unattached cells are not lost during subsequent processing for LVSEM or HVEM using freeze-substitution or freeze drying. We recently developed such a procedure.


Author(s):  
Robert Corbett ◽  
Delbert E. Philpott ◽  
Sam Black

Observation of subtle or early signs of change in spaceflight induced alterations on living systems require precise methods of sampling. In-flight analysis would be preferable but constraints of time, equipment, personnel and cost dictate the necessity for prolonged storage before retrieval. Because of this, various tissues have been stored in fixatives and combinations of fixatives and observed at various time intervals. High pressure and the effect of buffer alone have also been tried.Of the various tissues embedded, muscle, cartilage and liver, liver has been the most extensively studied because it contains large numbers of organelles common to all tissues (Fig. 1).


Author(s):  
R.E. Crang ◽  
M. Mueller ◽  
K. Zierold

Obtaining frozen-hydrated sections of plant tissues for electron microscopy and microanalysis has been considered difficult, if not impossible, due primarily to the considerable depth of effective freezing in the tissues which would be required. The greatest depth of vitreous freezing is generally considered to be only 15-20 μm in animal specimens. Plant cells are often much larger in diameter and, if several cells are required to be intact, ice crystal damage can be expected to be so severe as to prevent successful cryoultramicrotomy. The very nature of cell walls, intercellular air spaces, irregular topography, and large vacuoles often make it impractical to use immersion, metal-mirror, or jet freezing techniques for botanical material.However, it has been proposed that high-pressure freezing (HPF) may offer an alternative to the more conventional freezing techniques, inasmuch as non-cryoprotected specimens may be frozen in a vitreous, or near-vitreous state, to a radial depth of at least 0.5 mm.


Author(s):  
William P. Sharp ◽  
Robert W. Roberson

The aim of ultrastructural investigation is to analyze cell architecture and relate a functional role(s) to cell components. It is known that aqueous chemical fixation requires seconds to minutes to penetrate and stabilize cell structure which may result in structural artifacts. The use of ultralow temperatures to fix and prepare specimens, however, leads to a much improved preservation of the cell’s living state. A critical limitation of conventional cryofixation methods (i.e., propane-jet freezing, cold-metal slamming, plunge-freezing) is that only a 10 to 40 μm thick surface layer of cells can be frozen without distorting ice crystal formation. This problem can be allayed by freezing samples under about 2100 bar of hydrostatic pressure which suppresses the formation of ice nuclei and their rate of growth. Thus, 0.6 mm thick samples with a total volume of 1 mm3 can be frozen without ice crystal damage. The purpose of this study is to describe the cellular details and identify potential artifacts in root tissue of barley (Hordeum vulgari L.) and leaf tissue of brome grass (Bromus mollis L.) fixed and prepared by high-pressure freezing (HPF) and freeze substitution (FS) techniques.


Author(s):  
E. F. Koch

Because of the extremely rigid lattice structure of diamond, generating new dislocations or moving existing dislocations in diamond by applying mechanical stress at ambient temperature is very difficult. Analysis of portions of diamonds deformed under bending stress at elevated temperature has shown that diamond deforms plastically under suitable conditions and that its primary slip systems are on the ﹛111﹜ planes. Plastic deformation in diamond is more commonly observed during the high temperature - high pressure sintering process used to make diamond compacts. The pressure and temperature conditions in the sintering presses are sufficiently high that many diamond grains in the sintered compact show deformed microtructures.In this report commercially available polycrystalline diamond discs for rock cutting applications were analyzed to study the deformation substructures in the diamond grains using transmission electron microscopy. An individual diamond particle can be plastically deformed in a high pressure apparatus at high temperature, but it is nearly impossible to prepare such a particle for TEM observation, since any medium in which the diamond is mounted wears away faster than the diamond during ion milling and the diamond is lost.


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