Sub-Neptune exoplanets may have thick hydrogen envelopes and therefore develop a high-pressure interface between hydrogen and the underlying silicates/metals. Some sub-Neptunes may convert to super-Earths via massive gas loss. If hydrogen chemically reacts with oxides and metals at high pressures and temperatures (
Although high pressure enables alloying between hydrogen and iron, hydrogen‐to‐iron molar ratio (H/Fe) so far found in experiments is mostly limited to 1 in the close‐packed iron metal under high pressure. We report a H/(Fe + Ni) ratio of 1.8 ± 0.1 from (Fe,Ni)H
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10400463
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 50
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
more » « less
Abstract P −T ), it could impact the structure and composition of the cores and atmospheres of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths. While H2gas is a strong reducing agent at low pressures, the behavior of hydrogen is unknown at theP −T expected for sub-Neptunes’ interiors, where hydrogen is a dense supercritical fluid. Here we report experimental results of reactions between ferrous/ferric oxides and hydrogen at 20–40 GPa and 1000–4000 K utilizing the pulsed laser-heated diamond-anvil cell combined with synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Under these conditions, hydrogen spontaneously strips iron off the oxides, forming Fe-H alloys and releasing oxygen to the hydrogen medium. In a planetary context where this reaction may occur, the Fe-H alloy may sink to the metallic part of the core, while released oxygen may stabilize as water in the silicate layer, providing a mechanism to ingas hydrogen to the deep interiors of sub-Neptunes. Water produced from the redox reaction can also partition to the atmosphere of sub-Neptunes, which has important implications for understanding the composition of their atmospheres. In addition, super-Earths converted from sub-Neptunes may contain a large amount of hydrogen and water in their interiors (at least a few wt% H2O). This is distinct from smaller rocky planets, which were formed relatively dry (likely a few hundredths wt% H2O). -
more » « less
Abstract A crucial step toward clean hydrogen (H2) energy production through water electrolysis is to develop high‐stability catalysts, which can be reliably used at high current densities for a long time. So far, platinum group metals (PGM) and their oxides, for example, Pt and iridium oxide (IrO2) have been well‐regarded as the criterion for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) electrocatalysts. However, the PGM catalysts usually undergo severe performance decay during the long‐term operation. Herein, the in situ growth of iron phosphosulfate (Fe2P2S6) nanocrystals (NCs) catalysts on carbon paper synthesized by combing chemical vapor deposition with solvent‐thermal treatment is reported to show competitive performance and stability as compared to the state‐of‐the‐art PGM catalysts in a real water electrolyzer. A current density of 370 mA cm−2is achieved at 1.8 V when using Fe2P2S6NCs as bifunctional catalysts in an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer. The Fe2P2S6NCs also show much better stability than the Pt‐IrO2catalysts at 300 mA cm−2for a continuous 24 h test. The surface generated FeOOH on Fe2P2S6is the real active site for OER. These results indicate that the Fe2P2S6NCs potentially can be used to replace PGM catalysts for practical water electrolyzers.
-
more » « less
Abstract Sorption-enhanced steam reforming (SESR) of toluene (SESRT) using catalytic CO2sorbents is a promising route to convert the aromatic tar byproducts formed in lignocellulosic biomass gasification into hydrogen (H2) or H2-rich syngas. Commonly used sorbents such as CaO are effective in capturing CO2initially but are prone to lose their sorption capacity over repeated cycles due to sintering at high temperatures. Herein, we present a demonstration of SESRT using A- and B-site doped Sr1−
x A’x Fe1−y B’y O3−δ (A’ = Ba, Ca; B’ = Co) perovskites in a chemical looping scheme. We found that surface impregnation of 5–10 mol% Ni on the perovskite was effective in improving toluene conversion. However, upon cycling, the impregnated Ni tends to migrate into the bulk and lose activity. This prompted the adoption of a dual bed configuration using a pre-bed of NiO/γ –Al2O3catalyst upstream of the sorbent. A comparison is made between isothermal operation and a more traditional temperature-swing mode, where for the latter, an average sorption capacity of ∼38% was witnessed over five SESR cycles with H2-rich product syngas evidenced by a ratio of H2: COx > 4.0. XRD analysis of fresh and cycled samples of Sr0.25Ba0.75Fe0.375Co0.625O3-δ reveal that this material is an effective phase transition sorbent—capable of cyclically capturing and releasing CO2without irreversible phase changes occurring. -
null (Ed.)Natural kamacite samples (Fe92.5Ni7.5) from a fragment of the Gibeon meteorite were studied as a proxy material for terrestrial cores to examine phase transition kinetics under shock compression for a range of different pressures up to 140 GPa. In situ time-resolved X-ray diffraction (XRD) data were collected of a body-centered cubic (bcc) kamacite section that transforms to the high-pressure hexagonal close-packed (hcp) phase with sub-nanosecond temporal resolution. The coarse-grained crystal of kamacite rapidly transformed to highly oriented crystallites of the hcp phase at maximum compression. The hcp phase persisted for as long as 9.5 ns following shock release. Comparing the c/a ratio with previous static and dynamic work on Fe and Fe-rich Fe-Ni alloys, it was found that some shots exhibit a larger than ideal c/a ratio, up to nearly 1.65. This work represents the first time-resolved laser shock compression structural study of a natural iron meteorite, relevant for understanding the dynamic material properties of metallic planetary bodies during impact events and Earth’s core elasticity.more » « less
-
more » « less
Abstract Iron nitrides are possible constituents of the cores of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Pressure‐induced magnetic changes in iron nitrides and effects on compressibility remain poorly understood. Here we report synchrotron X‐ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results for ε‐Fe7N3and γ′‐Fe4N up to 60 GPa at 300 K. The XES spectra reveal completion of high‐ to low‐spin transition in ε‐Fe7N3and γ′‐Fe4N at 43 and 34 GPa, respectively. The completion of the spin transition induces stiffening in bulk modulus of ε‐Fe7N3by 22% at ~40 GPa, but has no resolvable effect on the compression behavior of γ′‐Fe4N. Fitting pressure‐volume data to the Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state yields
V 0 = 83.29 ± 0.03 (Å3),K 0 = 232 ± 9 GPa,K 0′ = 4.1 ± 0.5 for nonmagnetic ε‐Fe7N3above the spin transition completion pressure, andV 0 = 54.82 ± 0.02 (Å3),K 0 = 152 ± 2 GPa,K 0′ = 4.0 ± 0.1 for γ′‐Fe4N over the studied pressure range. By reexamining evidence for spin transition and effects on compressibility of other candidate components of terrestrial planet cores, Fe3S, Fe3P, Fe7C3, and Fe3C based on previous XES and XRD measurements, we located the completion of high‐ to low‐spin transition at ~67, 38, 50, and 30 GPa at 300 K, respectively. The completion of spin transitions of Fe3S, Fe3P, and Fe3C induces elastic stiffening, whereas that of Fe7C3induces elastic softening. Changes in compressibility at completion of spin transitions in iron‐light element alloys may influence the properties of Earth's and planetary cores.
