The pressure medium as a solid-state oxygen buffer

Abstract

We present a simple method to buffer oxygen fugacity at high pressures and high temperatures where the traditional 'double capsule' method is inappropriate. The pressure medium is doped with a metal which partially reacts with the free oxygen in the pore spaces of the cell. The resultant finely intergrown metal-metal oxide assemblage buffers the oxygen fugacity in the sample as long as the capsule and furnace materials are oxygen permeable.