ISSN:
1432-2021
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract Diopside (CaMgSi2O6) and pseudowollastonite (CaSiO3) have been studied by X-ray powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy up to their respective melting points. In agreement with previous unit-cell parameters determinations below 1100 K, thermal expansion of diopside along the a and c axis is much smaller than along the b axis. For pseudowollastonite, the axis expansivity increases slightly in the order b〉a〉c. For both minerals, the change in unit-cell angles is very small and there are no anomalous variations of the other unit-cell parameters near the melting point. With increasing temperatures, the main changes observed in the Raman spectra are strong increases of the linewidths for those bands which mainly represent Si−O−Si bending (near 600 cm−1) or involve Ca−O or Mg−O stretching, in the range 270–500 cm−1 for diopside, and 240–450 cm−1 for pseudowollastonite. At temperatures near the onset of calorimetric premelting effects, this extensive band widening results in a broad Raman feature that can no longer be deconvoluted into its individual components. No significant changes affect the Si−O streching modes. For both diopside and pseudowollastonite, premelting appears to be associated with enhanced dynamics of the alkaline-earth elements. This conclusion contrasts markedly with that drawn for sodium metasilicate in which weaker bonding of sodium allows the silicate framework to distort and deform in such a way as to prefigure the silicate entities present in the melt.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002690050130
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