Reaction of rhenium and carbon at high pressures and temperatures

Abstract

Abstract A study of the reaction of rhenium with carbon at high-( P , T ) conditions up to P max = 67 GPa and T max = 3800 K is presented. A hexagonal ReC x was identified as the stable phase at high-( P , T ) conditions. A composition of ReC 0.5 is proposed. No evidence for a cubic ReC polymorph with rocksalt structure, as suggested in the literature, or for any other phase was found at the P - T conditions explored. A preliminary P - T rhenium-carbon phase diagram has been derived and properties such as bulk moduli and elastic stiffness coefficients were obtained.