Metallization and molecular dissociation of dense fluid nitrogen

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05011-z
• Publication Date: 2018-07-02T10:01:49Z
• Authors: Shuqing Jiang; Nicholas Holtgrewe; Sergey S. Lobanov; Fuhai Su; Mohammad F. Mahmood; R. Stewart McWill...; Alexander F. Gonc...
• Keywords: Condensed Matter - Materials Science; Science; Q; Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci); FOS: Physical sciences; aps.org; Article

Abstract Diatomic nitrogen is an archetypal molecular system known for its exceptional stability and complex behavior at high pressures temperatures, including rich solid polymorphism, formation of energetic states, insulator-to-metal transformation coupled to a change in chemical bonding. However, the thermobaric conditions fluid molecular–polymer phase boundary associated metallization have not been experimentally established. Here, by applying dynamic laser heating compressed using fast optical spectroscopy study electronic properties, we observe from insulating (molecular) conducting dense temperatures that decrease with pressure establish metallization, presumably polymerization, occurs above 125 GPa 2500 K. Our observations create better understanding interplay between dissociation, melting, revealing features are common simple systems.