Synthesis of rare-earth metal compounds through enhanced reactivity of alkali halides at high pressures

Title data

Yin, Yuqing ; Akbar, Fariia Iasmin ; Bykova, Elena ; Aslandukova, Alena ; Laniel, Dominique ; Aslandukov, Andrii ; Bykov, Maxim ; Hanfland, Michael ; Garbarino, Gaston ; Zhitai, Jia ; Dubrovinsky, Leonid ; Dubrovinskaia, Natalia:
Synthesis of rare-earth metal compounds through enhanced reactivity of alkali halides at high pressures.
In: Communications Chemistry. Vol. 5 (2022) . - 122.
ISSN 2399-3669
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-022-00736-x

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Abstract in another language

Chemical stability of the alkali halides NaCl and KCl has allowed for their use as inert media in high-pressure high-temperature experiments. Here we demonstrate the unexpected reactivity of the halides with metals (Y, Dy, and Re) and iron oxide (FeO) in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, thus providing a synthetic route for halogen-containing binary and ternary compounds. So far unknown chlorides, Y2Cl and DyCl, and chloride carbides, Y2ClC and Dy2ClC, were synthesized at ~40 GPa and 2000 K and their structures were solved and refined using in situ single-crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Also, FeCl2 with the HP-PdF2-type structure, previously reported at 108 GPa, was synthesized at ~160 GPa and 2100 K. The results of our ab initio calculations fully support experimental findings and reveal the electronic structure and chemical bonding in these compounds.