We are studying carbon bearing solids and fluids under pressure, to improve our understanding of the physical and chemical behavior of carbon at extreme conditions, as found in the deep interiors of Earth and other planets.
We are also investigating how tweaking and modifying chemical bonds with temperature and pressure may lead to the discovery of new materials and novel properties. In particular, applying pressure to materials may lead to the synthesis of new structures, recoverable once pressure is released.
Tetrahedrally coordinated carbonates in Earth’s lower mantle
Only a small fraction of our planet’s total carbon budget is found at the surface. In fact, Earth’s mantle is thought to be the largest carbon reservoir. Carbonates, and in particular ferromagnesite ((Mg,Fe)CO3), are likely candidates for deep-Earth carbon storage and therefore play a key role in the deep carbon cycle. We recently reported unequivocal evidence of tetrahedrally coordinated carbon in high pressure carbonates, obtained by combined experimental and theoretical studies. In particular, we identified a unique vibrational signature present only in the high-pressure phase of magnesite, and thus a new carbon-oxygen bond formed under pressure.
"Tetrahedrally coordinated carbonates in Earth’s lower mantle",
Eglantine Boulard, Ding Pan, Giulia Galli, Zhenxian Liu, and Wendy L. Mao,
Nature Commun.6, 6311 (2015)
The refractive index and electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure
Experimentally, it is not yet possible to measure absorption processes taking place in water and ice in diamond anvil cells. The band gap of diamond is smaller than that of water and ice, at least up to 30 GPa, and at high temperatures water becomes corrosive. We used ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations to show that both the refractive index and the electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure (up to 30 GPa), contrary to previous assumptions and contrary to the results of simple, widely used models. Subtle electronic effects, related to the nature of inter-band transitions and band edge localization under pressure, are responsible for this apparently anomalous behavior. [DCO link]
"The refractive index and electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure",
Ding Pan, Quan Wan, and Giulia Galli
Nature Commun.5, 3919 (2014)
Water and carbonates under pressure
Water is a major component of fluids in the Earth’s mantle, where its properties are substantially different from those at ambient conditions. At the pressures and temperatures of the mantle, experiments on aqueous fluids are challenging, and several fundamental properties of water are poorly known; e.g., its dielectric constant has not been measured. Using ab initio molecular dynamics, we computed the dielectric constant of water under the conditions of the Earth’s upper mantle, and we predicted the solubility products of carbonate minerals.
"The dielectric properties of water under extreme conditions and transport of carbonates in the deep Earth",
D.Pan, L.Spanu, B.Harrison, D.Sverjenski and G.Galli
Proc. Nat'l Acd. Sci. (2013) in press; with commentary by C. Manning : "Deep water gives up another secret Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2013 110 (17) 6616-6617"
The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of hydrocarbons at high
pressures and temperature are important for understanding carbon
reservoirs and fluxes in the Earth. This is one of the of foci of the
Deep Carbon Observatory
project, funded by Sloan. Our combined ab-initio
MD and free energy calculations reveal how higher hydrocarbons may
be formed from methane at deep Earth pressures and temperature. This
work provides a basis for understanding experiments that demonstrated
polymerization of methane to form high hydrocarbons, and earlier methane
forming reactions under pressure (in the news).
"Stability of Hydrocarbons at Deep Earth Pressures and Temperatures",
L. Spanu, D. Donadio, D. Hohl, E. Schwegler and G. Galli,
Proc. Nat'l Acd. Sci.108, 6843 (2011)
Melting of ice
We combined first-principles molecular dynamics simulations with a two phase
approach to determine the melting temperature of the ice-VII phase in the range
of 10–50 GPa. Our computed melting temperatures are consistent with existing
diamond anvil cell experiments. We find that for pressures between 10 and 40
GPa, ice melts as a molecular solid. For pressures above 45 GPa, there is a sharp
increase in the slope of the melting curve due to the presence of molecular
dissociation and proton diffusion in the solid before melting. The onset of
significant proton diffusion in ice-VII as a function of increasing temperature is
found to be gradual and bears many similarities to that of a type-II superionic solid.
Two independent experiments have reported the presence of a maximum
in the nitrogen melting curve, below 90 GPa, however the position and
the interpretation of the origin of such maximum differ. By means of ab
initio MD simulations and thermodynamic integration techniques, we
have determined the phase diagram of nitrogen in the range between
20 and 100 GPa. We find a maximum in the melting line, related to a
transformation in the liquid, from molecular N2 to polymeric nitrogen
accompanied by an insulator-to-metal transition.
"Ab initio investigation of the melting line of nitrogen at high pressure",
D. Donadio, L. Spanu, I. Duchemin, F. Gygi and G. Galli,
Phys. Rev. B82, 020102(R) (2010)
Only a small fraction of our planet’s total carbon budget is found at the surface. In fact, Earth’s mantle is thought to be the largest carbon reservoir. Carbonates, and in particular ferromagnesite ((Mg,Fe)CO3), are likely candidates for deep-Earth carbon storage and therefore play a key role in the deep carbon cycle. We recently reported unequivocal evidence of tetrahedrally coordinated carbon in high pressure carbonates, obtained by combined experimental and theoretical studies. In particular, we identified a unique vibrational signature present only in the high-pressure phase of magnesite, and thus a new carbon-oxygen bond formed under pressure.
Experimentally, it is not yet possible to measure absorption processes taking place in water and ice in diamond anvil cells. The band gap of diamond is smaller than that of water and ice, at least up to 30 GPa, and at high temperatures water becomes corrosive. We used ab initio molecular dynamics simulations and electronic structure calculations to show that both the refractive index and the electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure (up to 30 GPa), contrary to previous assumptions and contrary to the results of simple, widely used models. Subtle electronic effects, related to the nature of inter-band transitions and band edge localization under pressure, are responsible for this apparently anomalous behavior. [DCO link]
Water is a major component of fluids in the Earth’s mantle, where its properties are substantially different from those at ambient conditions. At the pressures and temperatures of the mantle, experiments on aqueous fluids are challenging, and several fundamental properties of water are poorly known; e.g., its dielectric constant has not been measured. Using ab initio molecular dynamics, we computed the dielectric constant of water under the conditions of the Earth’s upper mantle, and we predicted the solubility products of carbonate minerals.
The thermodynamic and kinetic properties of hydrocarbons at high
pressures and temperature are important for understanding carbon
reservoirs and fluxes in the Earth. This is one of the of foci of the
Deep Carbon Observatory
project, funded by Sloan. Our combined ab-initio
MD and free energy calculations reveal how higher hydrocarbons may
be formed from methane at deep Earth pressures and temperature. This
work provides a basis for understanding experiments that demonstrated
polymerization of methane to form high hydrocarbons, and earlier methane
forming reactions under pressure (in the news).
We combined first-principles molecular dynamics simulations with a two phase
approach to determine the melting temperature of the ice-VII phase in the range
of 10–50 GPa. Our computed melting temperatures are consistent with existing
diamond anvil cell experiments. We find that for pressures between 10 and 40
GPa, ice melts as a molecular solid. For pressures above 45 GPa, there is a sharp
increase in the slope of the melting curve due to the presence of molecular
dissociation and proton diffusion in the solid before melting. The onset of
significant proton diffusion in ice-VII as a function of increasing temperature is
found to be gradual and bears many similarities to that of a type-II superionic solid.
Two independent experiments have reported the presence of a maximum
in the nitrogen melting curve, below 90 GPa, however the position and
the interpretation of the origin of such maximum differ. By means of ab
initio MD simulations and thermodynamic integration techniques, we
have determined the phase diagram of nitrogen in the range between
20 and 100 GPa. We find a maximum in the melting line, related to a
transformation in the liquid, from molecular N2 to polymeric nitrogen
accompanied by an insulator-to-metal transition.