Molecule matters. Carbon dioxide: molecular states and beyond

Abstract

Carbon dioxide is a fascinating molecule; its gaseous, liquid, solid and even supercritical fluid states have unique properties and applications. The linear triatomic structure of carbon dioxide molecule with two carbon-oxygen double bonds is all too familiar. However a whole new world has been opened up by high pressure-high temperature experiments that effected the polymerization of this small molecule into a covalent network structure with carbon-oxygen single bonds. The crystalline and amorphous forms of carbonia are built up of linked tetrahedral CO₄ units.