Transition metals exhibit a series of interesting and useful properties originating from their partially filled d-band and the consequent delocalisation of their d-orbitals, thus attracting a considerable amount of attention from a range of scientific communities. In recent decades, a great effort has been dedicated to mapping out and understanding the phase diagrams of transition metals, in particular under high pressure (HP) and high temperature (HT) conditions. Despite this, surprisingly little is currently known about the behaviour of ruthenium (Ru) under HP-HT conditions. In this work, an in situ characterisation of the HP-HT phase diagram of Ru was carried out. This experiment was performed using a combination of laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LH-DAC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques at the beamline ID27 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). XRD data was taken in the range of 15 GPa to 110 GPa and from ambient temperature up to 4500 K. While the hcp-fcc transition predicted to occur at elevated temperatures was not observed, this study has produced the first experimental observation of a solid-liquid phase transition of Ru at HP conditions.
Characterisation of the high pressure - high temperature phase diagram of ruthenium
Brooks, A. (Author). 23 Jan 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis › Master of Science by Research (MScR)