Inorganic Chemistry, Vol.56, No.14, 8026-8035, 2017
High-Pressure Study of Perovskites and Postperovskites in the (Mg,Fe)GeO3 System
The effect of incorporation of Fe2+ on the perovskite (Pbnm) and postperovskite (Cmcm) structures was investigated in the (Mg,Fe)GeO3 system at high pressures and temperatures using laser-heated diamond anvil cell and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Samples with compositions of Mg# >= 48 were shown to transform to the perovskite (similar to 30 GPa and similar to 1500 K) and postperovskite (>55 GPa, similar to 1600-1800 K) structures. Compositions with Mg# >= 78 formed single-phase perovskite and postperovskite, whereas those with Mg# < 78 showed evidence for partial decomposition. The incorporation of Fe into the perovskite structure causes a decrease in octahedral distortion as well as a modest decrease in bulk modulus (K-0) and a modest increase in zero-pressure volume (V-0). It also leads to a decrease in the perovskite-to-postperovskite phase transition pressure by similar to 9.5 GPa over compositions from Mg#78 to Mg#100.