A thermodynamic formulation of hydrous cordierite

Abstract

A thermodynamic formulation of hydrous Mg-cordierite (Mg₂Al₄Si₅O₁₈·nH₂O) has been obtained by application of calorimetric and X-ray diffraction data for hydrous cordierite to the results of hydrothermal syntheses. The data include measurements of the molar heat capacity and enthalpy of hydration and the molar volume. The synthesis data are consistent with a thermodynamic formulation in which H₂O mixes ideally on a single crystallographic site in hydrous cordierite. The standard molar Gibbs free energy of hydration is-9.5±1.0 kJ/mol (an average of 61 syntheses). The standard molar entropy of hydration derived from this value is-108±3 J/mol-K. An equation providing the H₂O content of cordierite as a function of temperature and fugacity of H₂O is as follows (n moles of H₂O per formula unit, n<1):

$$\begin{gathered}n = {{f_{{\text{ H}}_{\text{2}} O}^{\text{V}} } \mathord{\left/{\vphantom {{f_{{\text{ H}}_{\text{2}} O}^{\text{V}} } {\left( {f_{{\text{ H}}_{\text{2}} O}^{\text{V}} + {\text{exp}}\left[ { - {\text{3}}{\text{.8389}} - 5025.2\left( {\frac{1}{T} - \frac{1}{{298.15}}} \right)} \right.} \right.}}} \right.\kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\left( {f_{{\text{ H}}_{\text{2}} O}^{\text{V}} + {\text{exp}}\left[ { - {\text{3}}{\text{.8389}} - 5025.2\left( {\frac{1}{T} - \frac{1}{{298.15}}} \right)} \right.} \right.}} \hfill \\{\text{ }}\left. {\left. { - {\text{ln}}\left( {\frac{T}{{{\text{298}}{\text{.15}}}}} \right) - \left( {\frac{{298.15}}{T} - 1} \right)} \right]} \right) \hfill \\\end{gathered}$$

Application of this formulation to the breakdown reaction of Mg-cordierite to an assemblage of pyrope-sillimanite-quartz±H₂O shows that cordierite is stabilized by 3 to 3.5 kbar under H₂O-saturated conditions. The thermodynamic properties of H₂O in cordierite are similar to those of liquid water, with a standard molar enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of hydration that are the same (within experimental uncertainty) as the enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of vaporization. By contrast, most zeolites have Gibbs free energies of hydration two to four times more negative than the corresponding value for the vaporization of water.