Original paper
Amorphization of natrolite and edingtonite at high pressure
Goryainov, Sergei V.
European Journal of Mineralogy Volume 17 Number 2 (2005), p. 201 - 206
published: Apr 29, 2005
Abstract
Amorphization of natrolite Na2[Al2Si3O10]2H2O (Khibiny, Kola Peninsula, Russia) and edingtonite Ba[Al2Si3O10]4H2O (Böhlet, Sweden) was investigated at high pressures up to 11 GPa, using Raman spectroscopy. Natrolite compressed in a nonpenetrating medium of methanol-ethanol shows one apparent crystal-to-crystal transition at approximately 3.7 GPa before amorphization. Amorphization, reflected by decrease of Raman spectrum intensity, starts in the pressure range of 6-7 GPa and is completed by ∼9 GPa. Amorphized Na2[Al2Si3O10]2H2O exhibits partial reversibility to crystalline natrolite after amorphization at ∼7-8 GPa and partially recovers its Raman spectrum after release of pressure. It was shown that amorphization of natrolite begins in soft structural units (water sublattice) and finishes in rigid units (T-O bonds).Comparison of natrolite and edingtonite behaviour at high pressures shows that amorphization of both zeolites begins at similar pressures but differ in their crystalline phase transitions. Edingtonite compressed in methanol-ethanol has no crystalline transition at high pressure. Ba[Al2Si3O10]4H2O amorphized after compression up to higher pressure of ∼11 GPa also exhibits partial reversibility to edingtonite crystal structure on release of pressure.
Keywords
amorphization • phase transition • high pressure • raman spectra • natrolite • edingtonite