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X-ray diffraction reveals two structural transitions in szomolnokite

  • Olivia S. Pardo ORCID logo , Vasilije V. Dobrosavljevic , Tyler Perez , Wolfgang Sturhahn , Zhenxian Liu , George R. Rossman and Jennifer M. Jackson
Published/Copyright: March 2, 2023
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 108 Issue 3

Abstract

Hydrated sulfates have been identified and studied in a wide variety of environments on Earth, Mars, and the icy satellites of the solar system. The subsurface presence of hydrous sulfur-bearing phases to any extent necessitates a better understanding of their thermodynamic and elastic properties at pressure. End-member experimental and computational data are lacking and are needed to accurately model hydrous, sulfur-bearing planetary interiors. In this work, high-pressure X-ray diffraction (XRD) and synchrotron Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) measurements were conducted on szomolnokite (FeSO4·H2O) up to ~83 and 24 GPa, respectively. This study finds a monoclinic-triclinic (C2/c to P1̅) structural phase transition occurring in szomolnokite between 5.0(1) and 6.6(1) GPa and a previously unknown triclinic-monoclinic (P1̅ to P21) structural transition occurring between 12.7(3) and 16.8(3) GPa. The high-pressure transition was identified by the appearance of distinct reflections in the XRD patterns that cannot be attributed to a second phase related to the dissociation of the P1̅ phase, and it is further characterized by increased H2O bonding within the structure. We fit third-order Birch-Murnaghan equations of state for each of the three phases identified in our data and refit published data to compare the elastic parameters of szomolnokite, kieserite (MgSO4·H2O), and blödite (Na2Mg(SO4)2·4H2O). At ambient pressure, szomolnokite is less compressible than blödite and more than kieserite, but by 7 GPa both szomolnokite and kieserite have approximately the same bulk modulus, while blödite’s remains lower than both phases up to 20 GPa. These results indicate the stability of szomolnokite’s high-pressure monoclinic phase and the retention of water within the structure up to pressures found in planetary deep interiors.

Keywords: Szomolnokite; hydrated sulfates; high pressure; X-ray diffraction; infrared spectroscopy; equation of state

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Received: 2021-05-21
Accepted: 2022-02-16
Published Online: 2023-03-02
Published in Print: 2023-03-28

© 2023 Mineralogical Society of America

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Mineralogy and bulk geochemistry of a fumarole at Hverir, Iceland: Analog for acid-sulfate leaching on Mars
  2. The crystal structure and chemistry of natural giniite and implications for Mars
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  6. Resetting of the U-Pb and Th-Pb systems in altered bastnäsite: Insight from the behavior of Pb at nanoscale
  7. X-ray diffraction reveals two structural transitions in szomolnokite
  8. Contamination of heterogeneous lower crust in Hannuoba tholeiite: Evidence from in situ trace elements and strontium isotopes of plagioclase
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  11. Chemical reaction between ferropericlase (Mg,Fe)O and water under high pressure-temperature conditions of the deep lower mantle
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  19. Hydrothermal alteration of Ni-rich sulfides in peridotites of Abu Dahr, Eastern Desert, Egypt: Relationships among minerals in the Fe-Ni-Co-O-S system, fO2 and fS2
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https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8147
Keywords for this article
Szomolnokite; hydrated sulfates; high pressure; X-ray diffraction; infrared spectroscopy; equation of state

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Mineralogy and bulk geochemistry of a fumarole at Hverir, Iceland: Analog for acid-sulfate leaching on Mars
  2. The crystal structure and chemistry of natural giniite and implications for Mars
  3. Solid solution of CaSiO3 and MgSiO3 perovskites in the lower mantle: The role of ferrous iron
  4. Secondary ion mass spectrometer analyses for trace elements in glass standards using variably charged silicon ions for normalization
  5. Raman shifts of c-BN as an ideal P-T sensor for studying water-rock interactions in a diamond-anvil cell
  6. Resetting of the U-Pb and Th-Pb systems in altered bastnäsite: Insight from the behavior of Pb at nanoscale
  7. X-ray diffraction reveals two structural transitions in szomolnokite
  8. Contamination of heterogeneous lower crust in Hannuoba tholeiite: Evidence from in situ trace elements and strontium isotopes of plagioclase
  9. Oxygen fugacity buffering in high-pressure solid media assemblies from IW-6.5 to IW+4.5 and application to the V K-edge oxybarometer
  10. Trace element partitioning between anhydrite, sulfate melt, and silicate melt
  11. Chemical reaction between ferropericlase (Mg,Fe)O and water under high pressure-temperature conditions of the deep lower mantle
  12. Composition-dependent thermal equation of state of B2 Fe-Si alloys at high pressure
  13. Effects of thermal annealing on water content and δ18O in zircon
  14. Tourmaline and zircon trace the nature and timing of magmatic-hydrothermal episodes in granite-related Sn mineralization: Insights from the Libata Sn ore field
  15. Cation ordering, twinning, and pseudo-symmetry in silicate garnet: The study of a birefringent garnet with orthorhombic structure
  16. The occurrence of monoclinic jarosite in natural environments
  17. Niobium speciation in minerals revealed by L2,3-edges XANES spectroscopy
  18. The first occurrence of the carbide anion, C4–, in an oxide mineral: Mikecoxite, ideally (CHg4)OCl2, from the McDermitt open-pit mine, Humboldt County, Nevada, U.S.A
  19. Hydrothermal alteration of Ni-rich sulfides in peridotites of Abu Dahr, Eastern Desert, Egypt: Relationships among minerals in the Fe-Ni-Co-O-S system, fO2 and fS2
  20. New Mineral Names: Arsenic and Lead
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