Diamond formation kinetics in shock-compressed C─H─O samples recorded by small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction

He Z, Rödel M, Lütgert J, Bergermann A, Bethkenhagen M, Chekrygina D, Cowan TE, Descamps A, French M, Galtier E, Gleason AE, Glenn GD, Glenzer SH, Inubushi Y, Hartley NJ, Hernandez JA, Heuser B, Humphries OS, Kamimura N, Katagiri K, Khaghani D, Lee HJ, McBride EE, Miyanishi K, Nagler B, Ofori-Okai B, Ozaki N, Pandolfi S, Qu C, Ranjan D, Redmer R, Schönwälder C, Schuster AK, Stevenson MG, Sueda K, Togashi T, Vinci T, Voigt K, Vorberger J, Yabashi M, Yabuuchi T, Zinta LM, Ravasio A, Kraus D (2022)


Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Book Volume: 8

Pages Range: eabo0617-

Journal Issue: 35

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo0617

Abstract

Extreme conditions inside ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune can result in peculiar chemistry and structural transitions, e.g., the precipitation of diamonds or superionic water, as so far experimentally observed only for pure C─H and H2O systems, respectively. Here, we investigate a stoichiometric mixture of C and H2O by shock-compressing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics and performing in situ x-ray probing. We observe diamond formation at pressures between 72 ± 7 and 125 ± 13 GPa at temperatures ranging from ~3500 to ~6000 K. Combining x-ray diffraction and small-angle x-ray scattering, we access the kinetics of this exotic reaction. The observed demixing of C and H2O suggests that diamond precipitation inside the ice giants is enhanced by oxygen, which can lead to isolated water and thus the formation of superionic structures relevant to the planets' magnetic fields. Moreover, our measurements indicate a way of producing nanodiamonds by simple laser-driven shock compression of cheap PET plastics.

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APA:

He, Z., Rödel, M., Lütgert, J., Bergermann, A., Bethkenhagen, M., Chekrygina, D.,... Kraus, D. (2022). Diamond formation kinetics in shock-compressed C─H─O samples recorded by small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction. Science Advances, 8(35), eabo0617-. https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo0617

MLA:

He, Zhiyu, et al. "Diamond formation kinetics in shock-compressed C─H─O samples recorded by small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction." Science Advances 8.35 (2022): eabo0617-.

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