Abstract
Fayalite (Fe2SiO4), and other Fe-rich olivine, is often found in the reducing environments of the Moon, Mars, and other extraterrestrial bodies, but the oxidation state of the terrestrial mantle restricts the amount of Fe found in olivine on Earth. For this reason, synthetic fayalite is needed for use in planetary-analog and other studies. Here we present a method for the synthesis of nanocrystalline fayalite (nanofayalite) using a sol-gel technique. Iron(II) chloride, sodium ethoxide, and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) were reacted to produce a precursor gel, which was subsequently calcined under reducing conditions to crystallize nanofayalite. Powder X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the produced nanofayalite is nearly pure, with minor amounts (0.5-3%) of metallic Fe in some batches. Scanning electron microscope images of nanofayalite crystals show euhedral to subhedral crystals that range in size between 100 and 150 nm. Estimates of specific surface area were determined by both the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and Langmuir adsorption methods and indicate average surface areas of 27.7 and 45.3 m2/g, respectively. Regulation of the redox environment was the critical challenge for this synthesis, but careful control of oxygen fugacity during reactant addition and mixing, sol-gel drying, and calcination ensured fayalite crystallization.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Veatchite: Structural relationships of the three polytypes
- Falsterite, Ca2MgMn2+2 (Fe2+0.5Fe3+0.5)4Zn4(PO4)8(OH)4(H2O)14, a new secondary phosphate mineral from the Palermo No. 1 pegmatite, North Groton, New Hampshire
- Pavlovskyite Ca8(SiO4)2(Si3O10): A new mineral of altered silicate-carbonate xenoliths from the two Russian type localities, Birkhin massif, Baikal Lake area and Upper Chegem caldera, North Caucasus
- Zaccagnaite-3R, a new Zn-Al hydrotalcite polytype from El Soplao cave (Cantabria, Spain)
- Incorporation of Si into TiO2 phases at high pressure
- TOF-SIMS and electron microprobe investigations of zoned magmatic orthopyroxenes: First results of trace and minor element analysis with implications for diffusion modeling
- Titanium in muscovite, biotite, and hornblende: Modeling, thermometry, and rutile activities of metapelites and amphibolites
- Polysaccharide-catalyzed nucleation and growth of disordered dolomite: A potential precursor of sedimentary dolomite
- High-pressure and high-temperature phase transitions in FeTiO3 and a new dense FeTi3O7 structure
- Compressibility and thermal expansion of hydrous ringwoodite with 2.5(3) wt% H2O
- Vibrational and elastic properties of ferromagnesite across the electronic spin-pairing transition of iron
- Electronic spin states of ferric and ferrous iron in the lower-mantle silicate perovskite
- Experimental VNIR reflectance spectroscopy of gypsum dehydration: Investigating the gypsum to bassanite transition
- Nature of rehydroxylation in dioctahedral 2:1 layer clay minerals
- Thermal behavior of afghanite, an ABABACAC member of the cancrinite group
- Experimental incorporation of Th into xenotime at middle to lower crustal P-T utilizing alkali-bearing fluids
- Sol-gel synthesis of nanocrystalline fayalite (Fe2SiO4)
- The heat capacity of fayalite at high temperatures
- Structural trends for celestite (SrSO4), anglesite (PbSO4), and barite (BaSO4): Confirmation of expected variations within the SO4 groups
- The dehydroxylation of serpentine group minerals
- Formation of nanoscale Th-coffinite
- Magnetic and low-temperature structural behavior of clinopyroxene-type FeGeO3: A neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, and 57Fe Mössbauer study
- Crystal structure and thermal expansion of aragonite-group carbonates by single-crystal X-ray diffraction
- The lower-pressure stability of glaucophane in the presence of paragonite and quartz in the system Na2O-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O
- Coralloite, Mn2+Mn23+(AsO4)2(OH)2·4H2O, a new mixed valence Mn hydrate arsenate: Crystal structure and relationships with bermanite and whitmoreite mineral groups
- The crystal structure of metanatroautunite, Na[(UO2)(PO4)](H2O)3, from the Lake Boga Granite, Victoria, Australia
- Petedunnite (CaZnSi2O6): Stability and phase relations in the system CaO-ZnO-SiO2
- Revision of the crystal structure and chemical formula of weeksite, K2(UO2)2(Si5O13)·4H2O
- Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses of phyllosilicates in petrographic thin sections
Articles in the same Issue
- Veatchite: Structural relationships of the three polytypes
- Falsterite, Ca2MgMn2+2 (Fe2+0.5Fe3+0.5)4Zn4(PO4)8(OH)4(H2O)14, a new secondary phosphate mineral from the Palermo No. 1 pegmatite, North Groton, New Hampshire
- Pavlovskyite Ca8(SiO4)2(Si3O10): A new mineral of altered silicate-carbonate xenoliths from the two Russian type localities, Birkhin massif, Baikal Lake area and Upper Chegem caldera, North Caucasus
- Zaccagnaite-3R, a new Zn-Al hydrotalcite polytype from El Soplao cave (Cantabria, Spain)
- Incorporation of Si into TiO2 phases at high pressure
- TOF-SIMS and electron microprobe investigations of zoned magmatic orthopyroxenes: First results of trace and minor element analysis with implications for diffusion modeling
- Titanium in muscovite, biotite, and hornblende: Modeling, thermometry, and rutile activities of metapelites and amphibolites
- Polysaccharide-catalyzed nucleation and growth of disordered dolomite: A potential precursor of sedimentary dolomite
- High-pressure and high-temperature phase transitions in FeTiO3 and a new dense FeTi3O7 structure
- Compressibility and thermal expansion of hydrous ringwoodite with 2.5(3) wt% H2O
- Vibrational and elastic properties of ferromagnesite across the electronic spin-pairing transition of iron
- Electronic spin states of ferric and ferrous iron in the lower-mantle silicate perovskite
- Experimental VNIR reflectance spectroscopy of gypsum dehydration: Investigating the gypsum to bassanite transition
- Nature of rehydroxylation in dioctahedral 2:1 layer clay minerals
- Thermal behavior of afghanite, an ABABACAC member of the cancrinite group
- Experimental incorporation of Th into xenotime at middle to lower crustal P-T utilizing alkali-bearing fluids
- Sol-gel synthesis of nanocrystalline fayalite (Fe2SiO4)
- The heat capacity of fayalite at high temperatures
- Structural trends for celestite (SrSO4), anglesite (PbSO4), and barite (BaSO4): Confirmation of expected variations within the SO4 groups
- The dehydroxylation of serpentine group minerals
- Formation of nanoscale Th-coffinite
- Magnetic and low-temperature structural behavior of clinopyroxene-type FeGeO3: A neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, and 57Fe Mössbauer study
- Crystal structure and thermal expansion of aragonite-group carbonates by single-crystal X-ray diffraction
- The lower-pressure stability of glaucophane in the presence of paragonite and quartz in the system Na2O-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-H2O
- Coralloite, Mn2+Mn23+(AsO4)2(OH)2·4H2O, a new mixed valence Mn hydrate arsenate: Crystal structure and relationships with bermanite and whitmoreite mineral groups
- The crystal structure of metanatroautunite, Na[(UO2)(PO4)](H2O)3, from the Lake Boga Granite, Victoria, Australia
- Petedunnite (CaZnSi2O6): Stability and phase relations in the system CaO-ZnO-SiO2
- Revision of the crystal structure and chemical formula of weeksite, K2(UO2)2(Si5O13)·4H2O
- Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analyses of phyllosilicates in petrographic thin sections