Recent advances in high pressure diamond anvil cell techniques and synchrotron radiation characterization methods have enabled investigation of a wide range of materials properties in-situ under extreme conditions. High pressure studies have made significant contribution to our understanding in a number of scientific fields, e.g. condensed matter physics, chemistry, Earth and planetary sciences, and material sciences. Pressure, as a fundamental thermodynamic variable, can induce changes in the electronic and structural configuration of a material, which in turn can dramatically alter its properties. The novel phases and new compounds existing at high pressure have improved our basic understanding of bonding and interactions in condensed matter. This dissertation focuses on how pressure affects materials' bonding and electronic structures in two types of systems: hydrogen rich molecular compounds and strongly correlated transition metal oxides. The interaction of boranes and hydrogen was studied using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy and their hydrogen storage potential is discussed in the context of practical applications. The pressure-induced behavior of the SiH4 + H2 binary system and the formation of a newly formed compound SiH4(H2)2 were investigated using a combination of optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction. The experimental work along with DFT calculations on the electronic properties of the compound up to the possible metallization pressure, indicated that there are strong intermolecular interactions between SiH4 and H2 in the condensed phase. By using a newly developed synchrotron x-ray spectroscopy technique, we were able to follow the evolution of the 3d band of a 3d transition metal oxide, Fe2O3 under pressure, which experiences a series of structural, electronic and spin transitions at approximately 50 GPa. Together with theoretical calculations we revisited its electronic phase transition mechanism, and found that the electronic transitions are reflected in the pre-edge region.

Materials Under Extreme Conditions: Recent Trends and Future Prospects analyzes the chemical transformation and decomposition of materials exposed to extreme conditions, such as high temperature, high pressure, hostile chemical environments, high radiation fields, high vacuum, high magnetic and electric fields, wear and abrasion related to chemical bonding, special crystallographic features, and microstructures. The materials covered in this work encompass oxides, non-oxides, alloys and intermetallics, glasses, and carbon-based materials. The book is written for researchers in academia and industry, and technologists in chemical engineering, materials chemistry, chemistry, and condensed matter physics. - Describes and analyzes the chemical transformation and decomposition of a wide range of materials exposed to extreme conditions - Brings together information currently scattered across the Internet or incoherently dispersed amongst journals and proceedings - Presents chapters on phenomena, materials synthesis, and processing, characterization and properties, and applications - Written by established researchers in the field

This book is the second volume of Solids Volumes in theShockWaveScience and Technology Reference Library. These volumes are primarily concerned with high-pressure shock waves in solid media, including detonation and hi- velocity impact and penetration events. This volume contains four articles. The ?rst two describe the reactive behavior of condensed-phase explosives, and the remaining two discuss the inert, mechanical response of solid materials. The articles are each se- contained, and can be read independently of each other. They o?er a timely reference, for beginners as well as professional scientists and engineers, cov- ing the foundations and the latest progress, and include burgeoning devel- ment as well as challenging unsolved problems. The ?rst chapter, by S. She?eld and R. Engelke, discusses the shock initiation and detonation phenomena of solids explosives. The article is an outgrowth of two previous review articles: “Explosives” in vol. 6 of En- clopedia of Applied Physics (VCH, 1993) and “Initiation and Propagation of Detonation in Condensed-Phase High Explosives” in High-Pressure Shock Compression of Solids III (Springer, 1998). This article is not only an - dated review, but also o?ers a concise heuristic introduction to shock waves and condensed-phase detonation. The authors emphasize the point that d- onation is not an uncontrollable, chaotic event, but that it is an orderly event that is governed by and is describable in terms of the conservation of mass, momentum, energy and certain material-speci?c properties of the explosive.

Meeting the long-felt need for in-depth information on one of the most advanced material characterization methods, a top team of editors and authors from highly prestigious facilities and institutions covers a range of synchrotron techniques that have proven useful for materials research. Following an introduction to synchrotron radiation and its sources, the second part goes on to describe the various techniques that benefit from this especially bright light, including X-ray absorption, diffraction, scattering, imaging, and lithography. The thrid and final part provides an overview of the applications of synchrotron radiation in materials science. bridging the gap between specialists in synchrotron research and material scientists, this is a unique and indispensable resource for academic and industrial researchers alike.

Spectroscopic Methods in Mineralogy and Material Science covers significant advances in the technological aspects and applications of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques used in the Earth and Materials Sciences. The current volume compliments the now classic Volume 18, Spectroscopic Methods in Mineralogy and Geology, which became an essential resource to many scientists and educators for the past two decades. This volume updates techniques covered in Volume 18, and introduces new techniques available for probing the secrets of Earth materials, such as X-ray Raman and Brillouin spectroscopy. Other important topics including Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) are also covered.