High-pressure stabilization of argon fluorides

Area of Science:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• High-Pressure Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• Noble gas chemistry has advanced, enabling macroscopic xenon and krypton compounds.
• Argon compounds are challenging to synthesize, typically requiring low temperatures or specific conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a novel high-pressure reaction pathway for synthesizing bulk argon fluorides.
• To explore the feasibility of creating stable argon compounds at room temperature.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical investigations using hybrid Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
• Employing the HSE06 functional for computational analysis.

Main Results:

• High-pressure conditions (above 60 GPa) can facilitate the synthesis of argon fluorides.
• Theoretical models predict the formation of ArF2-containing molecular crystals.

Conclusions:

• A new high-pressure reaction pathway offers a viable route for bulk argon fluoride synthesis.
• This research opens possibilities for isolating stable argon compounds under accessible conditions.