Tridymite

About: Tridymite is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 840 publications have been published within this topic receiving 14831 citations.

Constraints on the Formation of Sedimentary Dolomite

Abstract: The experimental replacement of calcite and aragonite by dolomite under a variety of conditions indicates that dolomitization can take place in marine and lacustrine environments under two conditions: (i) low dissolved sulfate concentrations and (ii) insubstantial contemporaneous silica diagenesis. Common sites for dolomite formation are areas where the dissolved sulfate concentration is reduced by microbial sulfate reduction, through the mixing of seawater with large amounts of fresh water, or where low-sulfate alkaline lacustrine environments prevail. Even under these conditions, dolomite formation may be inhibited by the concurrent transformation of opal-A (amorphous silica) to opal-CT (disordered cristobalite and tridymite), whereas the subsequent transformation of opal-CT to quartz favors the formation of dolomite.

Silica diagenesis; II, General mechanisms

Abstract: Amorphous silica phases (opal-A) precipitate in nature due to the formation of dense colloids in supersaturated alkaline aqueous solutions with low relative concentrations of other ions. Opal-A dissolves and yields solutions of still relatively high silica content. In pore waters containing abundant cations, open framework polymers form which flocculate to yield opal-CT. Opal-CT becomes increasingly ordered, primarily due to preferential growth of cristobalite relative to tridymite and crystal size increase. Opal-CT dissolves to yield pore waters of low silica concentration, which allows slow growth of quartz crystals from monomeric solution. The quartz crystals then slowly increase in size and crystallinity. Carbonates appear to enhance opal-CT formation, possibly due to the activity of positively charged hydroxyl complexes. Hence, polymerization in relatively pure systems is involved in opal-A formation and polymerization in impure systems is involved in opal-CT formation, and slow growth from monomeric (low silica concentration) solutions is involved in precipitation of quartz in sedimentary realms.

The upper three-phase region in the system SiO 2 -H 2 O

Abstract: Melting relations in the system SiO_2 – H_2O were studied at high temperatures and pressures. A quadruple point for the equilibrium among quartz, tridymite, and 2 fluids was found at 1160° C. and 1500 bars. A second quadruple point for tridymite, 2 fluids, and cristobalite is estimated to be near 1470° C. and 400 bars. The freezing point of SiO_2 in equilibrium with 2 fluid phases is depressed from 1720° C. at one bar to 1130° C. at 2000 bars. This freezing point is diminished by only an additional 50° C. with a further increase in pressure to 9700 bars. The compositions of coexisting fluids along the upper 3-phase boundary have been determined. A critical end point for the univariant equilibrium curve was found at 1080° C. and 9700 bars with a composition of approximately 75 wt% SiO_2 to 25 wt% H_2O.

Rigid-unit phonon modes and structural phase transitions in framework silicates

Abstract: The rigid-unit mode model provides many new insights into the stability and physical properties of framework silicates. In this model the SiOo and AlO4 tetrahedra are treated as very stifl to a first approximation as completely rigid, in comparison with intertetrahedral forces. In this paper we apply the model to several important examples. The model is reviewed by a detailed study of quarlz, and it is shown that the a-B phase transition involves a rigid-unit mode that preserves the Si-O-Si bond angle. The model is used to explain the phase transitions in cristobalite and the diferent feldspar, sodalite, and leucite structures. We also use the model to explain the nature of the high-temperature disordered phases of cristobalite and tridymite, to interpret the observations of streaks of diffuse scattering in electron diffraction patterns, to interpret the structures in the kalsilite-nepheline solid solution, to explain volume anomalies in the cubic leucite structures, and to explain qualitatively the negative linear thermal expansion in cordierite. The results for the highest symmetry sodalite structure show that there is a rigid-unit mode at every wave vector, a finding with significant implications for the understanding of the sorption and catalytic behavior of zeolites.