Trace element detection in anhydrous minerals by micro-scale quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Nominally anhydrous minerals (NAMs) composing Earth's and planetary rocks incorporate microscopic amounts of volatiles. However, volatile distribution in NAMs and their effect on physical properties of rocks remain controversial. Thus, constraining trace volatile concentrations in NAMs is tantamount to our understanding of the evolution of rocky planets and planetesimals.

Structural independence of hydrogen-bond symmetrisation dynamics at extreme pressure conditions.

The experimental study of hydrogen-bonds and their symmetrization under extreme conditions is predominantly driven by diffraction methods, despite challenges of localising or probing the hydrogen subsystems directly. Until recently, H-bond symmetrization has been addressed in terms of either nuclear quantum effects, spin crossovers or direct structural transitions; often leading to contradictory interpretations when combined. Here, we present high-resolution in-situ H-NMR experiments in diamond anvil cells investigating a range of systems containing linear O-H ⋯  O units at pressure ranges of up to 90 GPa covering their respective H-bond symmetrization.

Measurement of the sound velocity of shock compressed water.

The sound velocities of water in the Hugoniot states are investigated by laser shock compression of precompressed water in a diamond anvil cell. The obtained sound velocities in the off-Hugoniot region of liquid water at precompressed conditions are used to test the predictions of quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations and the SESAME equation-of-state (EOS) library. It is found that the prediction of QMD simulations agrees with the experimental data while the prediction of SESAME EOS library underestimates the sound velocities probably due to its improper accounting for the ionization processes.

Mesoporous hollow black TiO with controlled lattice disorder degrees for highly efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysis.

Black TiO has received tremendous attention because of its lattice disorder-induced reduction in the TiO bandgap, which yields excellent light absorption and photocatalytic ability. In this report, a highly efficient visible-light-driven black TiO photocatalyst was synthesized with a mesoporous hollow shell structure. It provided a higher specific surface area, more reaction sites and enhanced visible light absorption capability, which significantly promoted the photocatalytic reaction.