What is it about?
The structure of glassy SiO2 under pressure is investigated by neutron diffraction and molecular dynamics. An atomistic model for densification is proposed in which the ring structures are made smaller or "zipped" by the pairing of higher-coordinated Si atoms.
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Why is it important?
The model gives an accurate description for the dependence of the mean primitive ring size <n> on the mean Si-O coordination number, thereby linking a parameter that is sensitive to ordering on multiple length scales to a readily measurable parameter that describes the local coordination environment.
Perspectives
The results highlight the benefit of developing in situ high-pressure neutron diffraction to investigate the structure of glassy materials.
Professor Philip S Salmon
University of Bath
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: High-Pressure Transformation of SiO 2 Glass from a Tetrahedral to an Octahedral Network: A Joint Approach Using Neutron Diffraction and Molecular Dynamics , Physical Review Letters, September 2014, American Physical Society (APS),
DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.113.135501.
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