Sat. Redfern et al., Octahedral cation ordering in olivine at high temperature. II: an in situ neutron powder diffraction study on synthetic MgFeSiO4 (Fa50), PHYS CHEM M, 27(9), 2000, pp. 630-637
The partitioning of Fe and Mg between the M1 and M2 octahedral sites of oli
vine has been investigated by in situ time-of-flight neutron powder diffrac
tion. The degree of M-cation order was determined from direct measurements
of site occupancies in a synthetic sample of Fo50Fa50 heated to 1250 degree
sC at the Fe-FeO oxygen buffer. Fe shows slight preference for M1 at temper
atures below about 600 degreesC, progressively disordering on heating to th
is temperature. Above 630 degreesC, the temperature at which site preferenc
es cross over (T-cr), Fe preferentially occupies M2, becoming progressively
more ordered into M2 on increasing temperature. The cation-ordering behavi
our is discussed in relation to the temperature dependence of the M1 and M2
site geometries, and it is suggested that vibrational entropy, crystal fie
ld effects and changes in bond characteristics play a part in the cross-ove
r of partitioning behaviour. The temperature dependence of site ordering is
modelled using a Landau expansion of the free energy of ordering of the ty
pe DeltaG = -hQ + gTQ + a/2 (T - T-c)Q(2) + b/4 Q(4), with a/h = 0.00406 K-
1, b/h = 2.3, T-c = 572 K and g/h = 0.00106 K-1. These results suggest that
the high-temperature ordering behaviour across the forsterite-fayalite joi
n will have a bearing on the activity-composition relations of this importa
nt rock-forming mineral, and indicate that Fe-Mg olivine solid solutions be
come less ideal as temperature increases.