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Updated: Apr 24, 2026

Achieving Moderate Pressures in Sealed Vessels Using Dry Ice As a Solid CO2 Source
Published on: August 17, 2018
Communication: A novel method for generating molecular mixtures at extreme conditions: the case of hydrogen and
Michael Pravica1, Daniel Sneed1, Melanie White1
1High Pressure Science and Engineering Center (HiPSEC) and Department of Physics, University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-4002, USA.
Abstract:
We have successfully created a segregated mixture of hydrogen and oxygen at high pressure in a diamond anvil cell using hard x-ray photochemistry. A keyhole (two holes connected by an opening) sample chamber was created in a metallic gasket to support two segregated powders of ammonia borane and potassium perchlorate, respectively, in each hole at a pressure of ~5.0 GPa. Both holes were separately irradiated with synchrotron hard x-rays to release molecular oxygen and molecular hydrogen, respectively. Upon irradiation of the first KClO4-containing hole, solid reddish-orange O2 appeared in the region of irradiation and molecular oxygen was found to diffuse throughout the entire sample region. The second ammonia borane-containing hole was then irradiated and H2 was observed to form via Raman spectroscopy. Water also was observed in the ammonia borane-containing hole and possibly (in the form of ice VII) in the second hole. This unique experiment demonstrates the ability to easily create solid mixtures of simple molecular systems via x-ray irradiation and then react them via further irradiation which will aid the study of chemistry under extreme conditions.
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