Microsymposium M34 Novel Materials and Physical Properties at High Pressure

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IUCr Congress, Geneva, 9. 8. 2002, Microsymposium M34
Novel Materials and Physical Properties at High Pressure

(Paul McMillan, Yasuhiko Fuji Chairs)

Due to recent scientific and technical advances in the field, the high pressure variable is becoming of increasing importance in crystallography and studies of amorphous materials, and in the synthesis and design of new technological materials. This interdisciplinary session gave a series of exciting insights into various aspects of research at the frontiers of this emerging field. The session opened with a presentation by John Tse (Ottawa, Canada) on the role of computational studies to predict and understand new and hypothetical high-pressure structures and physical phenomena. This was followed by Toshimori Sekine (NIMS, Japan), who described the latest shock-wave methods for high-throughput synthesis of high-pressure nitride and oxynitride spinels and Nadesha Serebryanaya (Troitsk, Russia) who presented studies of new super-hard carbon materials based on high pressure-high temperature treatment of fullerences and C-nanotubes. Katsuya Shimizu (Osaka, Japan) showed the latest techniques for electrical and magnetic properties measurements under high-P and cryogenic conditions, and showed that the "superconducting periodic table" now extends to all classes of elements under megabar pressures. Craig Bull (RI, London) described results of "pressure-tuning" IR absorption properties of electronic perovskites, and Maddury Somayazulu (Argonne, USA) gave new insights into the comparative "mineralogical" structural chemistry of CO₂ and N₂O/NO₂ solids. The session ended with Andreas Zerr (Darmstadt, Germany), who described recent results in determining the structure and physical properties of the newly-discovered family of high-pressure nitride spinels and post-spinel materials, that are likely to become of great technological significance.

Paul McMillan, University College, London.