Crystal chemistry and compressibility of Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 and FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 silicate perovskites at pressures up to 95 GPa

Silicate perovskite, with the mineral name bridgmanite, is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s lower mantle. We investigated crystal structures and equations of state of two perovskite-type Fe3+-rich phases, FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 and Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3, at high pressures, employing single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. We solved their crystal structures at high pressures and found that the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts a novel monoclinic double-perovskite structure with the space group of P21/n at pressures above 12 GPa, whereas the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts an orthorhombic perovskite structure with the space group of Pnma at pressures above 8 GPa. The pressure induces an iron spin transition for Fe3+ in a (Fe0.7,Mg0.3)O6 octahedral site of the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase at pressures higher than 40 GPa. No iron spin transition was observed for the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase as all Fe3+ ions are located in bicapped prism sites, which have larger volumes than an octahedral site of (Al0.5,Si0.5)O6

Interaction Between FeOOH and NaCl at Extreme Conditions: Synthesis of Novel Na2_{2}FeCl4_{4}OHx_{x} Compound

Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, FeOOH, is abundant in the banded iron formations (BIFs). Recent studies indicate that BIFs may carry water down to the lower mantle with subducting slabs. The previous experiments investigating the properties of FeOOH at extreme pressures (P) and temperatures (T) were performed in diamond anvil cells (DACs), where it was compressed inside alkali metal halide pressure-transmitting media (2). Alkali metal halides such as NaCl or KCl are expected to be chemically inert; therefore, they are widely used in DAC experiments. Here, we report the chemical interaction between FeOOH and NaCl pressure medium at 107(2) GPa and 2400(200) K. By means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) analysis applied to a multigrain sample, we demonstrate the formation of a Na$_{2}$FeCl$_{4}$OH$_{x}$ phase and provide its structural solution and refinement. Our results demonstrate that at high P-T conditions, the alkali metal halides could interact with hydrous phases and thus cannot be used as a pressure transmitting and thermal insulating medium in DAC experiments dedicated to studies of hydroxyl or water-bearing materials at high P-T

Polymorphism of feldspars above 10 GPa

Feldspars are rock-forming minerals that make up most of the Earth’s crust. Along the mantle geotherm, feldspars are stable at pressures up to 3 GPa and may persist metastably at higher pressures under cold conditions. Previous structural studies of feldspars are limited to ~10 GPa, and have shown that the dominant mechanism of pressure-induced deformation is the tilting of AlO4 and SiO4 tetrahedra in a tetrahedral framework. Herein, based on results of in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies up to 27 GPa, we report the discovery of new high-pressure polymorphs of the feldspars anorthite (CaSi2Al2O8), albite (NaAlSi3O8), and microcline (KAlSi3O8). The phase transitions are induced by severe tetrahedral distortions, resulting in an increase in the Al and/or Si coordination number. High-pressure phases derived from feldspars could persist at depths corresponding to the Earth upper mantle and could possibly influence the dynamics and fate of cold subducting slabs

Raman Spectroscopy Study on Chemical Transformations of Propane at High Temperatures and High Pressures

This study is devoted to the detailed in situ Raman spectroscopy investigation of propane C3H8 in laserheated diamond anvil cells in the range of pressures from 3 to 22 GPa and temperatures from 900 to 3000 K. We show that propane, while being exposed to particular thermobaric conditions, could react, leading to the formation of hydrocarbons, both saturated and unsaturated as well as soot. Our results suggest that propane could be a precursor of heavy hydrocarbons and will produce more than just sooty material when subjected to extreme conditions. These results could clarify the issue of the presence of heavy hydrocarbons in the Earth’s upper mantle.QC 20200203</p

The effect of ruthenium promotion of the Co/d-Al2O3 catalyst on the hydrogen reduction kinetics of cobalt

The effect of ruthenium content on the reductive activation of the Co/δ-Al2O3 catalyst was investigated using thermal analysis and in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. Data of thermal analysis and phase transformations can be described by a kinetic scheme consisting of three sequential steps: Co³⁺ → Co²⁺ → (Co⁰Co²⁺) → Co⁰. The first step is the generation of several CoO clusters within one Co3O4 crystallite followed by their further growth obeying the Avrami–Erofeev kinetic equation (An1) with dimensional parameter n1 < 1, which may indicate the diffusion control of the growth. The second step is the kinetically controlled sequential process of the metallic cobalt phase nucleation (An2), which is followed by the third step of slow particle growth limited by mass transport according to the Jander model (D). Ruthenium promotion of Co/δ-Al2O3 catalysts significantly accelerates the reduction of cobalt. As the ruthenium content is raised to 1 wt%, the characteristic temperature of metal phase formation decreases by more than 200 °C and Ea for An2 step decreases by 25%. For step D, a joint decrease in activation energy and pre-exponential factor in case of ruthenium promotion corresponds to a weaker diffusion impediment at the final step of cobalt reduction. In the case of unmodified Co/δ-Al2O3, the characteristic temperature of the metal phase formation reaches very high values, the metallic nuclei rapidly coalesce into larger ones, and the further process is inhibited by diffusion of the reactants through the product layer. For ruthenium promoted catalysts, each CoO crystallite generates one metal crystallite; thus, ruthenium enhances the dispersion of the active component

The effect of ruthenium promotion of the Co/d-Al2O3 catalyst on the hydrogen reduction kinetics of cobalt

The effect of ruthenium content on the reductive activation of the Co/δ-Al2O3 catalyst was investigated using thermal analysis and in situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction. Data of thermal analysis and phase transformations can be described by a kinetic scheme consisting of three sequential steps: Co³⁺ → Co²⁺ → (Co⁰Co²⁺) → Co⁰. The first step is the generation of several CoO clusters within one Co3O4 crystallite followed by their further growth obeying the Avrami–Erofeev kinetic equation (An1) with dimensional parameter n1 < 1, which may indicate the diffusion control of the growth. The second step is the kinetically controlled sequential process of the metallic cobalt phase nucleation (An2), which is followed by the third step of slow particle growth limited by mass transport according to the Jander model (D). Ruthenium promotion of Co/δ-Al2O3 catalysts significantly accelerates the reduction of cobalt. As the ruthenium content is raised to 1 wt%, the characteristic temperature of metal phase formation decreases by more than 200 °C and Ea for An2 step decreases by 25%. For step D, a joint decrease in activation energy and pre-exponential factor in case of ruthenium promotion corresponds to a weaker diffusion impediment at the final step of cobalt reduction. In the case of unmodified Co/δ-Al2O3, the characteristic temperature of the metal phase formation reaches very high values, the metallic nuclei rapidly coalesce into larger ones, and the further process is inhibited by diffusion of the reactants through the product layer. For ruthenium promoted catalysts, each CoO crystallite generates one metal crystallite; thus, ruthenium enhances the dispersion of the active component

Synthesis of magnesium-nitrogen salts of polynitrogen anions

The synthesis of polynitrogen compounds is of fundamental importance due to their potential as environmentally-friendly high energy density materials. Attesting to the intrinsic difficulties related to their formation, only three polynitrogen ions, bulk stabilized as salts, are known. Here, magnesium and molecular nitrogen are compressed to about 50 GPa and laser-heated, producing two chemically simple salts of polynitrogen anions, MgN4 and Mg2N4. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction reveals infinite anionic polythiazyl-like 1D N-N chains in the crystal structure of MgN4 and cis-tetranitrogen N44− units in the two isosymmetric polymorphs of Mg2N4. The cis-tetranitrogen units are found to be recoverable at atmospheric pressure. Our results respond to the quest for polynitrogen entities stable at ambient conditions, reveal the potential of employing high pressures in their synthesis and enrich the nitrogen chemistry through the discovery of other nitrogen species, which provides further possibilities to design improved polynitrogen arrangements

DataSheet1_Crystal chemistry and compressibility of Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 and FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 silicate perovskites at pressures up to 95 GPa.pdf

Silicate perovskite, with the mineral name bridgmanite, is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s lower mantle. We investigated crystal structures and equations of state of two perovskite-type Fe3+-rich phases, FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 and Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3, at high pressures, employing single-crystal X-ray diffraction and synchrotron Mössbauer spectroscopy. We solved their crystal structures at high pressures and found that the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts a novel monoclinic double-perovskite structure with the space group of P21/n at pressures above 12 GPa, whereas the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase adopts an orthorhombic perovskite structure with the space group of Pnma at pressures above 8 GPa. The pressure induces an iron spin transition for Fe3+ in a (Fe0.7,Mg0.3)O6 octahedral site of the FeMg0.5Si0.5O3 phase at pressures higher than 40 GPa. No iron spin transition was observed for the Fe0.5Mg0.5Al0.5Si0.5O3 phase as all Fe3+ ions are located in bicapped prism sites, which have larger volumes than an octahedral site of (Al0.5,Si0.5)O6.</p