PRESSURE-INDUCED PHASE TRANSITION IN MG0.8FE0.2O FERROPERICLASE

Abstract

Combined X-ray powder diffraction, Mössbauer, and XANES spectroscopy in situ experiments revealed the transformation of cubic (Mg0.8Fe0.2)O ferropericlase to a rhombohedrally distorted phase at 35(1) GPa and room temperature. The Mössbauer spectroscopy results show that the rhombohedral distortion does not involve magnetic ordering. Combined with data from the literature, our results imply that the cubic to rhombodedral transition occurs in (Mg,Fe)O under conditions of non-hydrostatic stress over a wide range of composition (0.2 ≤ xFe ≤ 1). © Springer-Verlag 2006.