Pressure-induced transformations of molecular boron hydride

Decaborane, a molecular boron hydride, was compressed to 131 GPa at room temperature to explore possible non-molecular phases in this system and their physical properties. Decaborane changed its colour from transparent yellow to orange/red above 50 GPa and then to black above 100 GPa, suggesting some transformations. Raman scattering and infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy reveal significant structural changes. Above 100 GPa, B-B skeletal, B-H and B-H-B Raman/IR peaks gradually disappeared, which implies a transformation into a non-molecular phase in which conventional borane-type bonding is lost. The optical band gap of the material at 100 GPa was estimated to be about 1.0 eV