Fig. 1: Experimental configuration of laser-driven shock compression experiments on benzene.
A 100 μm-thick droplet of benzene was placed between an ablator window of coated z-cut sapphire and a rear single crystal [100] LiF window and held in place with a Teflon o-ring. XRD and SAXS were collected using a series of seven detectors place at a range of angles and distances from the target (see the “Methods” section). For clarity, not all of the seven detectors are shown. Shock states in liquid benzene from several literature sources (Dick19, Nellis16, Lysne20, and Dattelbaum14) obtained using traditional gas gun-driven plate impact techniques are shown in the pressure–volume plane in the plot. A “cusp” or deviation in the Hugoniot in the P–V plane is observed at 13.8 GPa and is purported to be due to a shock-driven chemical reaction with a volume change of −12.5%.
