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Aluminium at terapascal pressures

Nature Materials volume 9, pages 624–627 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Studying materials at terapascal (TPa) pressures will provide insights into the deep interiors of large planets and chemistry under extreme conditions1,2. The equation of state of aluminium is of interest because it is used as a standard material in shock-wave experiments and because it is a typical s p-bonded metal1,3. Here we use density-functional-theory methods and a random-searching approach to predict stable structures of aluminium at multiterapascal pressures, finding that the low-pressure close-packed structures transform to more open structures above 3.2 TPa (nearly ten times the pressure at the centre of the Earth), with an incommensurate host–guest structure being stable over a wide range of pressures and temperatures. We show that the high-pressure phases may be described by a two-component model consisting of positive ions and interstitial electron ‘blobs’, and propose that such structures are common in s p-bonded materials up to multiterapascal pressures.

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Figure 1: Enthalpy–pressure relationships for Al phases.
Figure 2: Host–guest structures.
Figure 3: Equation of state of Al.

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Acknowledgements

The authors were supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the UK.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK

    Chris J. Pickard

  2. Theory of Condensed Matter Group, Cavendish Laboratory, J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK

    R. J. Needs

Authors
  1. Chris J. Pickard
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  2. R. J. Needs
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Contributions

C.J.P. and R.J.N. contributed extensively to all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chris J. Pickard.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 1031 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al1-P6mmm at 10 TPa (CIF 0 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al4-Cmma at 20 TPa (CIF 1 kb)

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Crystallographic information for Al11-P-1 at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al16-B2n at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

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Crystallographic information for Al16-I4mcm at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

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Crystallographic information for Al21-P1 at 5TPa (CIF 2 kb)

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Crystallographic information for Al22-P4mbm at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al40-P4mnc at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al42-P4mnc at 5TPa (CIF 1 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al46-P4mbm at 5TPa (CIF 3 kb)

Supplementary Information

Crystallographic information for Al86-P4212 at 5TPa (CIF 2 kb)

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Pickard, C., Needs, R. Aluminium at terapascal pressures. Nature Mater 9, 624–627 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2796

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