Single-crystal structure determination of (Mg,Fe)SiO3 postperovskite.

ABSTRACT: Knowledge of the structural properties of mantle phases is critical for understanding the enigmatic seismic features observed in the Earth's lower mantle down to the core-mantle boundary. However, our knowledge of lower mantle phase equilibria at high pressure (P) and temperature (T) conditions has been based on limited information provided by powder X-ray diffraction technique and theoretical calculations. Here, we report the in situ single-crystal structure determination of (Mg,Fe)SiO3 postperovskite (ppv) at high P and after temperature quenching in a diamond anvil cell. Using a newly developed multigrain single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis technique in a diamond anvil cell, crystallographic orientations of over 100 crystallites were simultaneously determined at high P in a coarse-grained polycrystalline sample containing submicron ppv grains. Conventional single-crystal structural analysis and refinement methods were applied for a few selected ppv crystallites, which demonstrate the feasibility of the in situ study of crystal structures of submicron crystallites in a multiphase polycrystalline sample contained within a high P device. The similarity of structural models for single-crystal Fe-bearing ppv (~10 mol% Fe) and Fe-free ppv from previous theoretical calculations suggests that the Fe content in the mantle has a negligible effect on the crystal structure of the ppv phase.

SUBMITTER: Zhang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3631663 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature