Solution and shock-induced exsolution of argon in vitreous carbon

To add to the knowledge of noble gas solution and exsolution in carbonaceus material, experiments were performed on vitreous carbon. Ar-rich vitreous carbon samples were prepared under vapor-saturated conditions using argon as the pressurizing medium. Solubility data were obtained for temperatures of 773 to 973 K and pressures of 250 to 1500 bars. Up to 7 wt pct Ar was dissolved in the carbon. The solubility data were compared to a thermodynamic model of argon atoms dissolving into a fixed population of 'holes' in the carbon. Two variations of the model yielded estimates of the enthalpy of solution of Ar in vitreous carbon equal to about -4700 cal/mole. Preliminary shock experiments showed that 28 percent of the total argon was released by driving 4 GPa shocks into the argon-rich carbon. It was demonstrated that shock-induced argon loss is not simply caused by the impact-induced diminution of grain size. The present value of shock pressure required for partial impact devolatilization of Ar from carbon is below the range (5-30 GPa) at which H2O is released from phyllosilicates.