Thanks to the development of experimental high-pressure techniques and methods for
crystal-structure prediction based on quantum mechanics, in the past decade, numerous …

Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin silica films have the potential to reach technological
importance in electronics and catalysis. Several well-defined 2D-silica structures have been …

Conventional MAX phases (M is an early transition metal, A represents a p-block element or
Cd, and X is carbon or nitrogen) have so far been limited to carbides and/or nitrides. In the …

Studies of the Earth's atmosphere have shown that more than 90% of the expected amount
of Xe is depleted, a finding often referred to as the 'missing Xe paradox'. Although several …

Helium is generally understood to be chemically inert and this is due to its extremely stable
closed-shell electronic configuration, zero electron affinity and an unsurpassed ionization …

NaSrBS3, the first noncentrosymmetric alkali and alkaline earth metal mixed thioborate with
the isolated [BS3] as the building units, has been synthesized successfully under the …

Fluorooxoborates have inspired investigations of deep‐ultraviolet (DUV) nonlinear optical
(NLO) materials that can meet the multiple criteria. Herein, five stable structures with the …

An enduring geological mystery concerns the missing xenon problem, referring to the
abnormally low concentration of xenon compared to other noble gases in Earth's …

The noble gases are the most inert group of the periodic table, but their reactivity increases
with pressure. Diamond-anvil-cell experiments and ab initio modelling have been used to …

Until very recently, helium had remained the last naturally occurring element that was known
not to form stable solid compounds. Here we propose and demonstrate that there is a …