Electronic structure and anisotropic compression of Os2B3to 358 GPa
Kaleb C Burrage1, Chia-Min Lin1, Wei-Chih Chen1
1Department of Physics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35294, United States of America.
Abstract:
High pressure study on ultra-hard transition-metal boride Os2B3was carried out in a diamond anvil cell under isothermal and non-hydrostatic compression with platinum as an x-ray pressure standard. The ambient-pressure hexagonal phase of Os2B3is found to be stable with a volume compressionV/V0= 0.670 ± 0.009 at the maximum pressure of 358 ± 7 GPa. Anisotropic compression behavior is observed in Os2B3to the highest pressure, with thec-axis being the least compressible. The measured equation of state using the 3rd-order Birch-Murnaghan fit reveals a bulk modulusK0=397 GPa and its first pressure derivativeK0'=4.0. The experimental lattice parameters and bulk modulus at ambient conditions also agree well with our density-functional-theory (DFT) calculations within an error margin of ∼1%. DFT results indicate that Os2B3becomes more ductile under compression, with a strong anisotropy in the axial bulk modulus persisting to the highest pressure. DFT further enables the studies of charge distribution and electronic structure at high pressure. The pressure-enhanced electron density and repulsion along the Os and B bonds result in a high incompressibility along the crystalc-axis. Our work helps to elucidate the fundamental properties of Os2B3under ultrahigh pressure for potential applications in extreme environments.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Electronic Structure of Atoms
An atom comprises protons and neutrons, which are contained inside the dense, central core called the nucleus, with electrons present around the nucleus. Taking into account the wave–particle duality of electrons and the uncertainty in position around the nucleus, quantum mechanics provides a more accurate model for the atomic structure. It describes atomic orbitals as the regions around the nucleus where electrons of discrete energy exist, characterized by four quantum...
Hybridization of Atomic Orbitals I
Molecular Orbital Theory II
Resonance and Hybrid Structures
Resonance Structures and Resonance Hybrids
The Lewis structure of a nitrite anion (NO2−) may actually be drawn in two different ways, distinguished by the locations of the N–O and N=O bonds.
π Molecular Orbitals of 1,3-Butadiene
The simplest conjugated diene is 1,3-butadiene: a four-carbon system where each carbon is sp2-hybridized and has an unhybridized p orbital that contains an unpaired electron. According to molecular orbital theory, atomic orbitals combine to form molecular orbitals such that the number...
Electron Configurations
The relative energies of the subshells determine the order in which atomic orbitals are filled (1s, 2s, 2p, 3s, 3p,...


