Abstract
Under extreme conditions of high pressure and temperature, liquids
can undergo substantial structural transformations as their atoms rearrange to
minimise energy within a more conned volume. Understanding the structural
response of liquids under extreme conditions is important across a variety of
disciplines, from fundamental physics and exotic chemistry to materials and
planetary science. In situ experiments and atomistic simulations can provide
crucial insight into the nature of liquid-liquid phase transitions and the complex
phase diagrams and melting relations of high-pressure materials. Structural
changes in natural magmas at the high-pressures experienced in deep planetary
interiors can have a profound impact on their physical properties, knowledge of
which is important to inform geochemical models of magmatic processes.
Generating the extreme conditions required to melt samples at high-pressure,
whilst simultaneously measuring their liquid structure, is a considerable challenge. The measurement, analysis, and interpretation of structural data is further complicated by the inherent disordered nature of liquids at the atomic-scale. However, recent advances in high-pressure technology mean that liquid diffraction measurements are becoming more routinely feasible at synchrotron facilities around the world.
This topical review examines methods for high pressure synchrotron x-ray
diffraction of liquids and the wide variety of systems which have been studied
by them, from simple liquid metals and their remarkable complex behaviour at
high-pressure, to molecular-polymeric liquid-liquid transitions in pnicogen and
chalcogen liquids, and density-driven structural transformations in water and
silicate melts.
can undergo substantial structural transformations as their atoms rearrange to
minimise energy within a more conned volume. Understanding the structural
response of liquids under extreme conditions is important across a variety of
disciplines, from fundamental physics and exotic chemistry to materials and
planetary science. In situ experiments and atomistic simulations can provide
crucial insight into the nature of liquid-liquid phase transitions and the complex
phase diagrams and melting relations of high-pressure materials. Structural
changes in natural magmas at the high-pressures experienced in deep planetary
interiors can have a profound impact on their physical properties, knowledge of
which is important to inform geochemical models of magmatic processes.
Generating the extreme conditions required to melt samples at high-pressure,
whilst simultaneously measuring their liquid structure, is a considerable challenge. The measurement, analysis, and interpretation of structural data is further complicated by the inherent disordered nature of liquids at the atomic-scale. However, recent advances in high-pressure technology mean that liquid diffraction measurements are becoming more routinely feasible at synchrotron facilities around the world.
This topical review examines methods for high pressure synchrotron x-ray
diffraction of liquids and the wide variety of systems which have been studied
by them, from simple liquid metals and their remarkable complex behaviour at
high-pressure, to molecular-polymeric liquid-liquid transitions in pnicogen and
chalcogen liquids, and density-driven structural transformations in water and
silicate melts.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 503004 |
Journal | Journal of Physics Condensed Matter |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 50 |
Early online date | 20 Sept 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Oct 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
Keywords
- high-pressure
- liquid structure
- diffraction