Exploratory study of the new B-doped diamond heater at high pressure and temperature and its application to in situ XRD experiments on hydrous Mg-silicate melt

Abstract

We demonstrate the successful application of a new heating material, B-doped graphite (boron 10 wt%), to 23 GPa and 2000 °C. The heater resistance increases significantly at temperatures greater than 1200–1400 °C, similar to the diamond transition observed for a pure graphite heater. However, we find that the B-doped graphite furnace can be used at temperatures and pressures higher than that of diamond stability region, and that is stable for at least 3 h. Because this new furnace material is X-ray transparent and stable under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, it is suitable for in situ X-ray synchrotron applications at high pressure and high temperature, including for structural refinement of hydrous silicate melt. High quality diffraction patterns of hydrous Mg-silicate melt were collected at 14.9 GPa using the B-doped diamond heater. Hence, B-doped graphite (diamond) is a promising heater material for high-pressure and high-temperature applications.

Keywords:

• B-doped diamond
• hydrous silicate melt
• melt structure
• in situ X-ray diffraction

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Y. Wang, the Editor of this special issue, and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments. The authors are indebted to T. Kunimoto, T. Ohnishi, M. Katsuda and K. Numata for their assistance performing the in situ X-ray experiments at SPring-8 and the preliminary experiments. The authors are also grateful for valuable English improvements and scientific suggestions provided by S.J. Gaudio. Synchrotron radiation experiments were performed at BL04B1 with the approval of the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Institute (Proposal No. 2006A1583). The present study was supported by research fellowships of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists to A. Yamada, Grant-in-Aid for Creative Scientific Research to T. Irifune and NSF EAR-0711599 to C.E. Lesher.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Akihiro Yamada

Present address: Department of Geology University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA.

Yuji Higo

Present address: Japan Synchrotron Radiation Institute, Mikaduki, Hyogo, Japan.