Equation of State Determination for Rhenium Using First-Principles Molecular Dynamics Calculations and High-Pressure Experiments

Abstract

The room-temperature bulk modulus of rhenium (Re) was measured in the pressure range 0 to 115 GPa using a laser-annealing diamond anvil cell and the synchrotron X-ray diffraction method. Thermal properties of Re were investigated up to 4000 K based on first-principles molecular dynamics calculations, and the equation of state for Re was determined using experimental and calculated data. A Vinet equation of state fitted to the 300 K data yielded a bulk modulus of KT0 = 384 GPa and a pressure derivative of K T 0 ′  = 3.26. The contribution of thermal pressure was determined to have the form ΔPth = [αKT(Va) + (∂KT/∂T)Vln(Va/V)]ΔT. When αKT(Va) was assumed to be constant, the fit to the data yielded αKT(Va) = 0.0056 GPa/K. In contrast, the volume dependence of the thermal pressure was very small, and fitting yielded a value of (∂KT/∂T)V = −0.00042.