The recent theoretical prediction of a new compound, WB
5
, has spurred the interest in tungsten borides and their possible implementation in industry. In this research, the experimental synthesis and structural description of a boron‐rich tungsten boride and measurements of its mechanical properties are performed. The ab initio calculations of the structural energies corresponding to different local structures make it possible to formulate the rules determining the likely local motifs in the disordered versions of the WB
5
structure, all of which involve boron deficit. The generated disordered WB
4.18
and WB
4.86
models both perfectly match the experimental data, but the former is the most energetically preferable. The precise crystal structure, elastic constants, hardness, and fracture toughness of this phase are calculated, and these results agree with the experimental findings. Because of the compositional and structural similarity with predicted WB
5
, this phase is denoted as WB
5−
x
. Previously incorrectly referred to as “WB
4
,” it is distinct from earlier theoretically suggested WB
4
, a phase with a different crystal structure that has not yet been synthesized and is predicted to be thermodynamically stable at pressures above 1 GPa. Mild synthesis conditions (enabling a scalable synthesis) and excellent mechanical properties make WB
5−
x
a very promising material for drilling technology.
New nanomaterials have been prepared by high-temperature treatment of fullerite
C60
at moderate (0.1–1.5 GPa) pressures attainable for large-volume pressure apparatus. The
structure, EELS spectra, Raman spectra, hardness and elastic moduli of these carbon substances
have been studied. The materials have a high (90%) elastic recovery, fairly high hardness
H∼10–15 GPa and record values of the hardness-to-Young-modulus ratio
H/E∼0.22. The observed hardness is close to the ‘ideal’ limit, which is associated with the nanostructure
of the materials. This structure represents a combination of interlinked curved fragments of
C60
molecules and nanographite nuclei.
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