title: High-pressure crystallography.
abstract: The ability of pressure to change inter-atomic distances strongly leads to a wide range of pressure-induced phenomena at high pressures: for example metallisation, amorphisation, superconductivity and polymerisation. Key to understanding these phenomena is the determination of the crystal structure using x-ray or neutron diffraction. The tools necessary to compress matter above 1 million atmospheres (1 Megabar or 100 GPa) were established by the mid 1970s, but it is only since the early 1990s that we have been able to determine the detailed crystal structures of materials at such pressures. In this chapter I briefly review the history of high-pressure crystallography, and describe the techniques used to obtain and study materials at high pressure. Recent crystallographic studies of elements are then used to illustrate what is now possible using modern detectors and synchrotron sources. Finally, I speculate as to what crystallographic studies might become possible over the next decade.
authors.affiliation: SUPA, Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK. mim@ph.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Malcolm I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: McMahon
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D008958:Models, Molecular; D033363:Neutron Diffraction / Q000379:methods*; D033362:Powder Diffraction / Q000379:methods*; D011312:Pressure; D012538:Scandium / Q000737:chemistry; D012964:Sodium / Q000737:chemistry; D017356:Synchrotrons; D013691:Tellurium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012964:Sodium; D013691:Tellurium; D012538:Scandium