Synthesis of an orthorhombic high pressure boron phase

Sci Technol Adv Mater. 2009 Jan 28;9(4):044209. doi: 10.1088/1468-6996/9/4/044209. eCollection 2008 Dec.

Abstract

The densest boron phase (2.52 g cm-3) was produced as a result of the synthesis under pressures above 9 GPa and temperatures up to ∼1800 °C. The x-ray powder diffraction pattern and the Raman spectra of the new material do not correspond to those of any known boron phases. A new high-pressure high-temperature boron phase was defined to have an orthorhombic symmetry (Pnnm (No. 58)) and 28 atoms per unit cell.

Keywords: boron; crystal structure; high-pressure high-temperature.