Structural independence of hydrogen-bond symmetrisation dynamics at extreme pressure conditions

Abstract

The experimental study of hydrogen-bonds and their symmetrization under extreme conditions is predominantly driven by diffraction methods, despite challenges of localising or probing the hydrogen subsystems directly. Until recently, H-bond symmetrization has been addressed in terms of either nuclear quantum effects, spin crossovers or direct structural transitions; often leading to contradictory interpretations when combined. Here, we present high-resolution in-situ 1H-NMR experiments in diamond anvil cells investigating a range of systems containing linear O-H ⋯ O units at pressure ranges of up to 90 GPa covering their respective H-bond symmetrization. We found pronounced minima in the pressure dependence of the NMR resonance line-widths associated with a maximum in hydrogen mobility, precursor to a localisation of hydrogen atoms. These minima, independent of the chemical environment of the O-H ⋯ O unit, can be found in a narrow range of oxygen oxygen distances between 2.44 and 2.45 Å, leading to an average critical oxygen-oxygen distance of Å. ; Funding: German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) [DU 393/13-1, DU 393/9-2, STE 1105/13-1, ME 5206/3-1, DU 954/111]; Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany (BMBF) [05K19WC1]; Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advance Research, Beijing, P.R. China; Swedish Research Council (VR) [2019-05600]; Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009 00971]