Synthesis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction characterization of novel yttrium carbides under high pressure

The systematic investigation of transition metal carbides chemistry under high pressure will allow to produce new forms of polycarbon entities and to understand how their formation alter the physico-chemical properties. Here we propose to investigate the Y-C system up to 120 GPa by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) at ID15b beamline. The main objectives of this proposal are to i) synthesize novel yttrium carbides including novel Raman-discovered Y-C solid, ii) determine their crystal structure in-situ by employing synchrotron single-crystal X-ray diffraction and, iii) establish the produced compounds’ equation of state and find out if they are recoverable to atmospheric pressure.