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Electrical conductivity studies on silica phases and the effects of phase transformation

  • George M. Amulele , Anthony W. Lanati EMAIL logo and Simon M. Clark
Published/Copyright: November 29, 2019
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 104 Issue 12

Abstract

Starting with the same sample, the electrical conductivities of quartz and coesite have been measured at pressures of 1, 6, and 8.7 GPa, respectively, over a temperature range of 373–1273 K in a multi-anvil high-pressure system. Results indicate that the electrical conductivity in quartz increases with pressure as well as when the phase change from quartz to coesite occurs, while the activation enthalpy decreases with increasing pressure. Activation enthalpies of 0.89, 0.56, and 0.46 eV, were determined at 1, 6, and 8.7 GPa, respectively, giving an activation volume of –0.052 ± 0.006 cm3/mol. FTIR and composition analysis indicate that the electrical conductivities in silica polymorphs is controlled by substitution of silicon by aluminum with hydrogen charge compensation. Comparing with electrical conductivity measurements in stishovite, reported by Yoshino et al. (2014), our results fall within the aluminum and water content extremes measured in stishovite at 12 GPa. The resulting electrical conductivity model is mapped over the magnetotelluric profile obtained through the tectonically stable Northern Australian Craton. Given their relative abundances, these results imply potentially high electrical conductivities in the crust and mantle from contributions of silica polymorphs.

The main results of this paper are as follows:

• The electrical conductivity of silica polymorphs is determined by impedance spectroscopy up to 8.7 GPa.

• The activation enthalpy decreases with increasing pressure indicating a negative activation volume across the silica polymorphs.

• The electrical conductivity results are consistent with measurements observed in stishovite at 12 GPa.

Keywords: Electrical conductivity; impedance spectroscopy; single crystal; quartz; silica; coesite; high pressure

* Present address: Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Ohio 44106, U.S.A

† Orcid 0000-0002-3317-5697

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge and thank Lidong Dai and another anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and insights. Additionally, an earlier version of this manuscript was improved by the insights of two anonymous reviewers and editor from a previous submission, for which we thank them immensely. We also thank the editor, Yann Morizet, for editorial assistance and useful comments on the manuscript.

  1. Author Contributions: G.A. designed the study in consultation with S.M.C. G.A. and A.W.L. undertook all experiments. G.A. undertook all analysis and interpretation of results in collaboration with A.W.L. G.A. wrote the initial manuscript. A.W.L. undertook extensive edits and submitted the paper. All authors have contributed to, read, and agree to the final manuscript.

  2. Funding

    This is contribution 1369 from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems (http://www.ccfs.mq.edu.au) and 1324 in the GEMOC Key Centre (http://www.gemoc.mq.edu.au) The analytical data were obtained using instrumentation funded by DEST Systemic Infrastructure Grants, ARC LIEF, NCRIS/AuScope, industry partners, and Macquarie University. High-pressure equipment and consumables were obtained from ARC LIEF (LE160100103) and ARC Discovery (DP160103502) projects. Additional laboratory and consumables funding were provided through the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid Systems. Some of the FTIR analysis was obtained using the Bruker FTIR V70 FTIR system located at the University of Hawaii, instrument funded by NSF grant no. EAR-0957137. We thank Graham Heinson, University of Adelaide, for the loan of the 1260 Solatron Impedance Gain-Phase Analyzer. A.W.L. was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend and RTP Fee-Offset Scholarship through Macquarie University, and Macquarie University Faculty of Science HDR funds.

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Received: 2019-05-20
Accepted: 2019-08-07
Published Online: 2019-11-29
Published in Print: 2019-12-18

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2019-7120
Keywords for this article
Electrical conductivity; impedance spectroscopy; single crystal; quartz; silica; coesite; high pressure

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Invited Centennial Review
  2. High-pressure minerals
  3. Crossroads in Earth and Planetary Materials
  4. Investigation of the kieserite–szomolnokite solid-solution series, (Mg,Fe)SO4·H2O, with relevance to Mars: Crystal chemistry, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy under ambient and martian temperature conditions
  5. Intra-eruptive trachyte-phonolite transition: Natural evidence and experimental constraints on the role of crystal mushes
  6. Geochemistry of phosphorus and the behavior of apatite during crustal anatexis: Insights from melt inclusions and nanogranitoids
  7. Static compression of Fe4N to 77 GPa and its implications for nitrogen storage in the deep Earth
  8. A comparison between the stability fields of a Cl-rich scapolite and the end-member marialite
  9. Electrical conductivity studies on silica phases and the effects of phase transformation
  10. REE-, Sr-, Ca-aluminum-phosphate-sulfate minerals of the alunite supergroup and their role as hosts for radionuclides
  11. Experimental quantification of the Fe-valence state at amosite-asbestos boundaries using acSTEM dual-electron energy-loss spectroscopy
  12. Thermoelasticity, cation exchange, and deprotonation in Fe-rich holmquistite: Toward a crystal-chemical model for the high-temperature behavior of orthorhombic amphiboles
  13. Chemical and textural relations of britholite- and apatite-group minerals from hydrothermal REE mineralization at the Rodeo de los Molles deposit, Central Argentina
  14. Bicapite, KNa2Mg2(H2PV5+14 O42)·25H2O, a new polyoxometalate mineral with a bicapped Keggin anion from the Pickett Corral mine, Montrose County, Colorado, U.S.A
  15. Solubility of carbon and nitrogen in a sulfur-bearing iron melt: Constraints for siderophile behavior at upper mantle conditions
  16. New Mineral Names
  17. Editors’ note
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