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High-energy-density extended CO solid

Nature Materials volume 4, pages 211–215 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Covalently bonded extended phases of molecular solids made of first- and second-row elements at high pressures are a new class of materials with advanced optical, mechanical and energetic properties. The existence of such extended solids has recently been demonstrated using diamond anvil cells in several systems, including nitrogen1, carbon dioxide2 and carbon monoxide3. However, the microscopic quantities produced at the formidable high-pressure/temperature conditions have limited the characterization of their predicted novel properties, including high-energy content. In this paper, we present experimental evidence that these extended low-Z solids are indeed high-energy-density materials, by milligram-scale high-pressure synthesis, recovery and characterization of polymeric CO (p-CO). Our spectroscopic data reveal that p-CO is a random polymer made of lactonic entities and conjugated C=C with an energy content rivalling or exceeding that of HMX (cyclo-tetramethylene tetranitramine, a commonly used conventional high explosive). Solid p-CO explosively decomposes to CO2 and glassy carbon, and thus might be used as an advanced energetic material.

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Figure 1: Micrographs of CO products.
Figure 2: Video images of a p-CO sample inititated by a continuous-wave YAG laser (λ = 1,064 nm).
Figure 3: Spectral analysis of the recovered p-CO.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Julie Herberg for running the MAS-NMR experiment and Ken Visbeck for help with the large volume press. Work performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under the auspices of the US Department of Energy under contract number W-7405-Eng-48.

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  1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, 94551, California, USA

    Magnus J. Lipp, William J. Evans, Bruce J. Baer & Choong-Shik Yoo

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  1. Magnus J. Lipp
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Correspondence to Choong-Shik Yoo.

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Lipp, M., Evans, W., Baer, B. et al. High-energy-density extended CO solid. Nature Mater 4, 211–215 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1321

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