Structures of lithium-zinc compounds at high pressures.

Intermetallic lithium compounds have found a wide range of applications owing to their light mass and desirable electronic and mechanical properties. Here, by compressing pure lithium and zinc mixtures in a diamond-anvil cell, we observe a direct reaction forming the stoichiometric compound LiZn, at pressures below 1 GPa. On further compression above 10 GPa, we observe the formation of Li2Zn, which is the highest lithium content compound to be discovered in the Li-Zn system. Our results constrain the structures of these compounds and their evolution with pressure, furthering our understanding of potentially useful light volume-efficient energy storage materials.