The
ability to control materials stability, bonding, and transformation
by thermo-mechanical and chemical means is significant for development
of high-energy-density extended solids. We report that doping hydrogen
(∼10%) in carbon monoxide (CO) can greatly lower the polymerization
pressure of CO and enhance the stability of recovered polymeric CO
products at ambient conditions. Hydrogen-doped CO crystallizes into
well-grown dendrites of β-CO-like phase at 3.2 GPa, which polymerizes
to highly unsaturated black polymer (phase I) at ∼4.7 (5.8)
GPa. Upon further compression, this highly colored polymer transforms
into a translucent 3D network structure (phase II) at 6–7 (10–17)
GPa and then a transparent 2D layer structure (phase III) at 20–30
(30–60) GPa. A similar series of transformations are also found
in pure CO but at considerably higher transition pressures, as noted
in parentheses. All polymeric phases are recoverable at ambient conditions,
exhibiting an array of phase stability and novel properties such as
chemically unstable phase I, highly luminescent phase II, and highly
transparent layered phase III. The density of recovered products ranges
from ∼2.3 g/cm3 to 3.6 g/cm3, depending
on the pressure recovered. The recovered products are highly disordered
but slowly decompose to crystalline solids of anhydrous polymeric
oxalic acid while exhibiting interesting crystal morphologies such
as nm-cobs, nm-lamellar layers, and μm-bales. The present first-principles
MD simulations suggest that the polymerization occurs at 6 (or 10)
GPa in H2-doped (or pure) CO. While not directly participating
in the reaction, the role of H2 molecules is to enhance
the mobility of CO molecules leading to the polymerization.