Changing the Rules of Chemistry

Scientists have been hypothesizing that extreme conditions of temperature and pressure might change the way atoms bind together – for example, converting ionic bonds where one atom gives up an electron to another atom, to metallic bonds where electrons flow more freely. But one team of researchers recently discovered that, under high heat and pressure, they could actually create compounds that have never before existed on earth.

They demonstrated this using common table salt (NaCl), which is normally made up of a single sodium atom and a single chlorine atom. However, experiments revealed that the two atoms could bond in ratios of 1-to3, 3-to-2 and 1-to-7 as well. This not only alters how closely the atoms are arranged, but actually breaks one of the “rules” of chemistry – the octet rule – which states that these elements tend to bond in a way that gives them a complete set of eight electrons in their outer orbits. The new compounds did not always have eight electrons in their outer shell, and in some cases, they formed gemlike structures with totally new properties.

At this point, the researchers haven’t yet been able to retain the exotic compounds at normal temperatures and pressures, but the study adds a new dimension to much of what we know about matter and the laws that govern it. Next will be to use supercomputers and high speed analytics to design new compounds using this technique that would have useful and unique properties.