Nature Communications (Mar 2018)

Reactivity of He with ionic compounds under high pressure

  • Zhen Liu,
  • Jorge Botana,
  • Andreas Hermann,
  • Steven Valdez,
  • Eva Zurek,
  • Dadong Yan,
  • Hai-qing Lin,
  • Mao-sheng Miao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03284-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Helium was long thought to be unable to form stable solid compounds, until a recent discovery that helium reacts with sodium at high pressure. Here, the authors demonstrate the driving force for helium reactivity, showing that it can form new compounds under pressure without forming any local chemical bonds.