Viscosity behavior spanning four orders of magnitude in As-S melts under high pressure

Brazhkin, V. V.*; Kanzaki, Masami*; Funakoshi, Kenichi*; Katayama, Yoshinori

As-S liquid undergoes structural transformation form a molecular liquid into a polymerized one, then into a metallic one. We have measured the viscosity of the As-S liquid under high pressures and found large viscosity variations by 4-5 orders of magnitude. The viscosity values of the As-s liquids are moderate in the molecular state, very high in the covalent state, and low in the metallic state. From these results, it is possible to predict the viscosity behavior in other melts under pressure. The possibility of varying the viscosity value of the melts under pressure by many orders of magnitude is of great importance for materials science and earth science.