skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Novel Class of Rhenium Borides Based on Hexagonal Boron Networks Interconnected by Short B2 Dumbbells

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6];  [5];  [7];  [8];  [8];  [2];  [2];  [9]; ORCiD logo [4];  [5];  [10];  [11];  [5]
  1. Carnegie Institute of Science, Washington, DC (United States); University of Bayreuth (Germany)
  2. Linkoping University (Sweden)
  3. Carnegie Institute of Science, Washington, DC (United States); University of Cologne (Germany)
  4. University of Chicago, IL (United States)
  5. University of Bayreuth (Germany)
  6. Bayerisches Geoinstitut, University of Bayreuth, Universitätstraβe 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
  7. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen (Germany)
  8. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen (Germany); Universität Kassel (Germany)
  9. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
  10. Linkoping University (Sweden); University of Bayreuth (Germany)
  11. Carnegie Institute of Science, Washington, DC (United States)

Transition metal borides are known due to their attractive mechanical, electronic, refractive, and other properties. A new class of rhenium borides was identified by synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiments in laser-heated diamond anvil cells between 26 and 75 GPa. Recoverable to ambient conditions, compounds rhenium triboride (ReB3) and rhenium tetraboride (ReB4) consist of close-packed single layers of rhenium atoms alternating with boron networks built from puckered hexagonal layers, which link short bonded (~ 1.7 angstrom) axially oriented B2 dumbbells. The short and incompressible Re-B and B-B bonds oriented along the hexagonal c-axis contribute to low axial compressibility comparable with the linear compressibility of diamond. Sub-millimeter samples of ReB3 and ReB4 were synthesized in a large-volume press at pressures as low as 33 GPa and used for material characterization. Crystals of both compounds are metallic and hard (Vickers hardness, HV = 34(3) GPa). Geometrical, crystal-chemical, and theoretical analysis considerations suggest that potential ReBx compounds with x > 4 can be based on the same principle of structural organization as in ReB3 and ReB4 and possess similar mechanical and electronic properties.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Swedish Research Council (SRC); European Union - Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme; Carnegie Institution of Washington; German Research Foundation (DFG); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation; European Research Council (ERC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357; EAR-1634415; FG02-94ER14466; 949626; KAW 2015.0043; 2014-6336; 2019-05403; 2019-05600; 2009 00971; KAW-2018.0194
OSTI ID:
1970714
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 34, Issue 18; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (65)

The membrane diamond anvil cell: A new device for generating continuous pressure and temperature variations journal October 1988
Superconductivity at 39 K in magnesium diboride journal March 2001
Polycrystalline γ-boron: As hard as polycrystalline cubic boron nitride journal August 2012
Synthesis of Ultra-Incompressible Superhard Rhenium Diboride at Ambient Pressure journal April 2007
Experimental and Computational Studies on Superhard Material Rhenium Diboride under Ultrahigh Pressures journal April 2020
Superhard Semiconducting Optically Transparent High Pressure Phase of Boron journal May 2009
Diamond’s elastic stiffnesses from 322 K to 10 K journal September 2008
Elastic and electronic properties of hexagonal rhenium sub-nitrides Re3N and Re2N in comparison with hcp-Re and wurtzite-like rhenium mononitride ReN journal January 2011
Generation of pressures over 40 GPa using Kawai-type multi-anvil press with tungsten carbide anvils journal February 2016
Low-compressibility and hard materials Re B 2 and W B 2 : Prediction from first-principles study journal December 2006
Toward an internally consistent pressure scale journal May 2007
A new large-volume multianvil system journal June 2004
Effects of configurational disorder on the elastic properties of icosahedral boron-rich alloys based on B6O, B13C2, and B4C, and their mixing thermodynamics journal April 2016
Phase diagram and physical properties of iridium tetraboride from first principles journal January 2016
The Elastic Behaviour of a Crystalline Aggregate journal May 1952
Rediscovering the Crystal Chemistry of Borides journal March 2017
A new hard phase of ReB4 predicted from first principles journal October 2013
Ionic high-pressure form of elemental boron journal January 2009
New stable Re–B phases for ultra-hard materials journal October 2014
Ab initio elastic tensor of cubic Ti 0.5 Al 0.5 N alloys: Dependence of elastic constants on size and shape of the supercell model and their convergence journal April 2012
The Compressibility of Media under Extreme Pressures journal September 1944
Crystal Structures Adopted by Black Phosphorus at High Pressures journal March 1963
OLEX2 : a complete structure solution, refinement and analysis program journal January 2009
Mechanical and electronic properties of superhard Re B 2 journal October 2007
DIOPTAS : a program for reduction of two-dimensional X-ray diffraction data and data exploration journal May 2015
The ground-state structure and physical properties of ReB3 and IrB3 predicted from first principles journal January 2015
Structural, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties of R-3m ReB4 under high pressure journal September 2019
First-principles prediction of mechanical properties of gamma-boron journal May 2009
Borides of Rhenium and the Platinum Metals. The Crystal Structure of Re7B3, ReB3, Rh7B3, RhB~1.1, IrB~1.1 and PtB. journal January 1960
The crystal structure of rhenium diboride journal February 1962
New Tungsten Borides, Their Stability and Outstanding Mechanical Properties journal June 2018
Is Rhenium Diboride a Superhard Material? journal December 2008
Necessary and sufficient elastic stability conditions in various crystal systems journal December 2014
Structural and relative stabilities, electronic properties and possible reactive routing of osmium and ruthenium borides from first-principles calculations journal January 2013
Toward Inexpensive Superhard Materials: Tungsten Tetraboride-Based Solid Solutions journal December 2012
A theoretical investigation of mixing thermodynamics, age-hardening potential and electronic structure of ternary M11–xM2xB2 alloys with AlB2 type structure journal May 2015
Full elastic tensor of a crystal of the superhard compound ReB2 journal March 2010
First-Principles Determination of the Soft Mode in Cubic ZrO 2 journal May 1997
Multimode scanning X-ray diffraction microscopy for diamond anvil cell experiments journal February 2019
Tungsten tetraboride, an inexpensive superhard material journal June 2011
XCII. Relations between the elastic moduli and the plastic properties of polycrystalline pure metals journal August 1954
Structural Stability and Elastic and Electronic Properties of Rhenium Borides: First Principle Investigations journal December 2008
Special points for Brillouin-zone integrations journal June 1976
First-principles calculations of elemental crystalline boron phases under high pressure: Orthorhombic B28 and tetragonal B48 journal April 2011
Advanced flat top laser heating system for high pressure research at GSECARS: application to the melting behavior of germanium journal September 2008
First principles phonon calculations in materials science journal November 2015
An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments journal June 1992
Measurement of hardness and elastic modulus by instrumented indentation: Advances in understanding and refinements to methodology journal January 2004
Electronic, dynamical, and thermal properties of ultra-incompressible superhard rhenium diboride: A combined first-principles and neutron scattering study journal November 2007
On the hardness of a new boron phase, orthorhombic γ-B28 journal December 2008
Influence of modulus-to-hardness ratio and harmonic parameters on continuous stiffness measurement during nanoindentation journal August 2017
Origin of hardness in WB4 and its implications for ReB4, TaB4, MoB4, TcB4, and OsB4 journal September 2008
Compressibility, microcalorimetry, elastic properties and EELS of rhenium borides journal July 2018
Discovery of a Superhard Iron Tetraboride Superconductor journal October 2013
A Simple Derivation of the Birch–Murnaghan Equations of State (EOSs) and Comparison with EOSs Derived from Other Definitions of Finite Strain journal November 2019
Modeling hardness of polycrystalline materials and bulk metallic glasses journal September 2011
ElaStic: A tool for calculating second-order elastic constants from first principles journal August 2013
Self-interaction correction to density-functional approximations for many-electron systems journal May 1981
Mystery of Three Borides: Differential Metal–Boron Bonding Governing Superhard Structures journal November 2017
Elasticity properties of the low-compressible material ReB2 journal August 2008
Charge-ordering transition in iron oxide Fe4O5 involving competing dimer and trimer formation journal April 2016
Crystallographic Computing System JANA2006: General features journal January 2014
Structural Modifications and Mechanical Properties of Molybdenum Borides from First Principles journal March 2010
Osmium Diboride, An Ultra-Incompressible, Hard Material journal May 2005
Experimental pressure-temperature phase diagram of boron: resolving the long-standing enigma journal September 2011


Similar Records

Materials synthesis at terapascal static pressures
Journal Article · Wed May 11 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Nature (London) · OSTI ID:1970714

High-Pressure Synthesis of Metal–Inorganic Frameworks Hf4N20·N2, WN8·N2, and Os5N28·3 N2 with Polymeric Nitrogen Linkers
Journal Article · Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Angewandte Chemie (International Edition) · OSTI ID:1970714

High-Pressure Synthesis of Dirac Materials: Layered van der Waals Bonded BeN4 Polymorph
Journal Article · Mon Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Physical Review Letters · OSTI ID:1970714