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Experimental and theoretical equation of state of cubic boron nitride

Nature volume 337, pages 349–352 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

The phase diagram of boron nitride (BN) is similar to that of carbon, incorporating phases at high temperatures and pressures whose structures and physical properties resemble diamond1–9. Cubic zinc-blende-structured BN is especially important because it is extremely hard—second only to diamond. Here we report the first measurement of the 300-K equation of state of this material to ultrahigh pressures (115 GPa), and obtain a zero-pressure bulk modulus of 369 ± 14 GPa. A theoretical equation of state derived from first-principles pseudopotential calculations yields a 300-K isotherm that agrees with our experimental results to better than 2.5% in volume and 2.0% in bulk modulus. The high-pressure Hugoniot (shock-wave equation of state) calculated from our equation of state for BN is in good agreement with existing shock-wave data. Our study illustrates the reliability of current experimental techniques (such as the ruby-fluorescence calibra-tion) and theoretical methods (pseudopotentials) for characterizing the behaviour of superhard, incompressible materials under high pressure.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tectonics and Earth Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 95064, USA

    Elise Knittle

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Elise Knittle & Raymond Jeanloz

  3. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Renata M. Wentzcovitch & Marvin L. Cohen

  4. Materials and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA

    Renata M. Wentzcovitch & Marvin L. Cohen

Authors
  1. Elise Knittle
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  2. Renata M. Wentzcovitch
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  3. Raymond Jeanloz
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  4. Marvin L. Cohen
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Knittle, E., Wentzcovitch, R., Jeanloz, R. et al. Experimental and theoretical equation of state of cubic boron nitride. Nature 337, 349–352 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/337349a0

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