High-pressure alloying of iron and xenon: ‘‘Missing’’ Xe in the Earth’s core?
نویسندگان
چکیده
[1] Ab initio quantum mechanical calculations show that xenon (Xe) can be alloyed with hexagonal close-packed iron at high pressure through substitutional incorporation, with a favorable enthalpy of formation for the alloy relative to the separate elemental solids, suggesting that Xe is soluble in the Earth’s iron-rich core (up to 0.8 mol %). This alloying behavior and the possible presence of a significant amount of Xe in the core are important for understanding the accretion and evolution of the Earth and its atmosphere.
منابع مشابه
Ab-initio high-pressure alloying of iron and potassium: Implications for the Earth’s core
[1] Ab-initio quantum mechanical calculations show that several percent potassium (K) can be alloyed into iron (Fe) at high pressure, suggesting that K may have been incorporated into the Earth’s iron-rich core. We find that substitutional incorporation of K into the high-pressure polymorph of Fe, hexagonal close packed (hcp) e-Fe, is energetically favored over the separate elements. The incorp...
متن کاملStability of xenon oxides at high pressures.
Xenon, which is quite inert under ambient conditions, may become reactive under pressure. The possibility of the formation of stable xenon oxides and silicates in the interior of the Earth could explain the atmospheric missing xenon paradox. Using an ab initio evolutionary algorithm, we predict the existence of thermodynamically stable Xe-O compounds at high pressures (XeO, XeO(2) and XeO(3) be...
متن کاملHigh-pressure alloying of potassium and iron: Radioactivity in the Earth’s core?
[1] High-resolution x-ray diffraction provides evidence that potassium (K) alloys with iron (Fe) when the two pure elements are heated together at pressures above 26 gigapascals (GPa). Increases of 2–3% in volume of the e (hexagonal close packed: hcp) high-pressure phase of Fe can be attributed to the incorporation of 1 atomic% ( 7000 ppm by weight) K into Fe. Our results provide experimental s...
متن کاملXenon and krypton separation in a chromatographic column packed with granulated nano NaY zeolite
In order to investigate the gas separation ability of a column packed with nanozeolitic material, nano NaY zeolite was synthesized and granulated. These uniform granules packed in a chromatographic column were utilized for separation of Xe and Kr under various operating conditions. With regards to the response peaks obtained from trace injections of Xe and Kr into the column, the first and seco...
متن کاملPhase Diagrams of Fe-Si Alloys under High Pressures
Introduction Iron is the most abundant element in the Earth’s core. However, the density of the outer core is about 10% lower than the density of iron at the pressure and temperature conditions of the outer core, indicating the presence of a low-atomic-weight component (such as H, C, O, Si, or S) in the core [1]. There is also evidence that the inner core may be less dense than pure iron and th...
متن کامل