Carbon clusters formed from shocked benzene.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• High-Pressure Physics
• Chemical Dynamics

Background:

• Benzene (C6H6) is typically stable but reactive under extreme conditions like shock loading.
• Understanding high-pressure chemical reactions is crucial for materials synthesis and planetary science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the chemical reaction products of liquid benzene under shock compression.
• To characterize the morphology and crystalline structure of these products at nanosecond timescales.

Main Methods:

• In situ X-ray diffraction and small-angle X-ray scattering.
• Utilizing coherent X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) X-rays for high-resolution measurements.
• Shocking liquid benzene to 55 Gigapascals (GPa).

Main Results:

• Shock-driven reactions produced a complex mixture of carbon and hydrocarbon allotropes.
• Observed products included layered sheet-like hydrocarbon structures and nanosized carbon clusters.
• These structures exhibited mixed sp2-sp3 hybridized bonding, differing from expected diamond, methane, and hydrogen.

Conclusions:

• Benzene's shock-induced reactions yield novel carbon structures, not previously predicted.
• Findings provide insights into shock synthesis of new materials.
• Results contribute to understanding carbon transport in planetary interiors.