Early metallization in molecular fluids: the case of iodine

摘要

We report a study of structural and electronic properties of I_2 as it approaches the metallization in the fluid phase. Electronic properties have been investigated by measuring the absorption spectra of the fluid I_2 along the melting line up to 700 K, while molecular structural properties, namely molecular bond length and bond length distributions, have been determined by means of EXAFS measurements carried out across the metallization transition. The results, supported also by molecular dynamic simulations on fluid I_2 and by comparison with theoretical calculations performed on the hydrogen plasma, suggest a possible microscopic description of the metallization transition.