Transformation of gold by shearing at high pressure and at room temperature

Structures of solids sheared at high pressure are not always the same as those sheared at high-hydrostatic pressure. The structure of the former remains at atmospheric pressure. Therefore, there is a hope of making new materials that can be used at ambient conditions by shearing solids at high pressure. The main purpose of this paper is to present gold formed by shearing at high pressure and at room temperature. This gold has larger crystal lattices than those of usual gold. This phenomenon is against the accepted idea that crystal lattices contract at high pressure and that gold does not transform; interplanar spacings of many solids have been determined by comparing those of “untransformable” and unoxidizable gold. The only possible explanation for the enlarging of the crystal lattices is the embedding of gold atoms into usual gold crystal lattices. This type of structural change by deformation has not yet been reported.