Abstract
First-principles calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT) and low-T IR spectroscopy were performed to gain more insight into the structure of the so-called 3.65 Å phase, a high-pressure phase of the composition MgSi(OH)6. DFT-calculations predict a monoclinic symmetry with ordered sixfold-coordinated Mg and Si and six unique hydrogen sites as the most stable structure. Adapting the structural parameters of the DFT-determined lowest-energy configuration and assuming (MgSi)- ordering, a new Rietveld refinement of the powder XRD pattern of the 3.65 Å phase was performed, which resulted in excellent refinement statistics and successful assignment of X-ray reflections that were unassigned in former structural models with orthorhombic symmetry. A configuration with ordered Mg and Si at the octahedral positions causes a small monoclinic distortion of the network of strongly tilted octahedra and thus leads to space group P21. The structural refinement yields the following unit-cell parameters: a = 5.1131(3), b = 5.1898(3), c = 7.3303(4) Å, β = 90.03(1)°, V = 194.52(2) Å3, space group: P21, Z = 2, ρ = 2.637 g/cm3. The structure of the 3.65 Å phase can be considered as a modified A-site defective perovskite with a unique network of corner-sharing alternating Mg(OH)6 and Si(OH)6 octahedra and is probably related to the structure of stottite group minerals. Low-T IR spectroscopy confirms the presence of 6 different H-positions in the proposed structure. Measured IR-spectra and computed spectra compare favorably, which further supports the computed structure as the correct model for the 3.65 Å phase.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Mercury (Hg) mineral evolution: A mineralogical record of supercontinent assembly, changing ocean geochemistry, and the emerging terrestrial biosphere
- The 3.65 Å phase, MgSi(OH)6: Structural insights from DFT-calculations and T-dependent IR spectroscopy
- Vertical zonation of the Barcroft granodiorite, White Mountains, California: Implications for magmatic processes
- Minerals in cement chemistry: A single-crystal neutron diffraction and Raman spectroscopic study of thaumasite, Ca3Si(OH)6(CO3)(SO4)·12H2O
- A new high-pressure phase transition in natural Fe-bearing orthoenstatite
- Aluminum solubility in TiO2 rutile at high pressure and experimental evidence for a CaCl2-structured polymorph
- First record and timing of UHP metamorphism from zircon in the Xitieshan terrane: Implications for the evolution of the entire North Qaidam metamorphic belt
- Lead in zircon at the atomic scale
- Characterization of fluor-chlorapatites by electron probe microanalysis with a focus on time-dependent intensity variation of halogens
- An inversion-based self-calibration for SIMS measurements: Application to H, F, and Cl in apatite
- Second boiling effects on the Al-content of hornblende rims from an exhumed Cretaceous arc pluton, Stewart Island, New Zealand
- Heat transfer in plagioclase feldspars
- Transport properties and equation of state of 1-bar eutectic melt in the system CaAl2Si2O8-CaMgSi2O6 by molecular dynamics simulation
- High-pressure behavior of zoisite
- A first-principle investigation of antigorite up to 30 GPa: Structural behavior under compression
- Reynoldsite, Pb2Mn4+2 O5(CrO4), a new phyllomanganate-chromate from the Blue Bell claims, California and the Red Lead mine, Tasmania
- A new cubic perovskite in PbGeO3 at high pressures
- Manganoquadratite, AgMnAsS3, a new manganese-bearing sulfosalt from the Uchucchacua polymetallic deposit, Lima Department, Peru: Description and crystal structure
- Leucostaurite, Pb2[B5O9]Cl·0.5H2O, from the Atacama Desert: The first Pb-dominant member of the hilgardite group, and micro-determination of boron in minerals by PIGE
- Synthetic LiAlGe2O6: The first pyroxene with P21/n symmetry
- Panguite, (Ti4+,Sc,Al,Mg,Zr,Ca)1.8O3, a new ultra-refractory titania mineral from the Allende meteorite: Synchrotron micro-diffraction and EBSD
- Buseckite, (Fe,Zn,Mn)S, a new mineral from the Zakłodzie meteorite
- Experimental calibration of the effect of H2O on plagioclase crystallization in basaltic melt at 200 MPa
- High-pressure and high-temperature titanium solution mechanisms in silicate-saturated aqueous fluids and hydrous silicate melts
- Thermodynamic behavior and properties of katoite (hydrogrossular): A calorimetric study
- Graphite in the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001