Boron-MgO composite as an X-ray transparent pressure medium in the multi-anvil apparatus

X-ray transparent materials are very beneficial for in situ X-ray experiments in the multi-anvil apparatus. We sintered machinable blocks of boron-MgO composites at 800-1000 °C under atmospheric pressure from a mixture of amorphous boron and brucite or Mg(OH)₂. The machinability of composite blocks improved with an increase in the brucite content in the starting material; a brucite content higher than 15 wt. % showed reasonable machinability in forming various shapes such as octahedron, cylinder, and sleeve. We confirmed the feasibility of the boron-MgO pressure medium by successfully generating lower mantle pressure (>23 GPa); its pressure generation efficiency is comparable to that of a Cr₂O₃ doped MgO pressure medium. The boron-MgO composite is expected to be an excellent thermal insulator owing to the extremely low thermal conductivity of amorphous boron; we confirmed its better thermal insulation performance through a comparative heating test with a zirconia sleeve in a Cr₂O₃ doped MgO pressure medium. Constituting light elements, the boron-MgO composite has high X-ray transparency, which enables us to conduct various cutting edge X-ray measurements in the large volume multi-anvil apparatus.