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On the presence of a hydrous component in a gemstone variety of intermediate olivine-type triphylite-lithiophilite, Li(Fe,Mn)PO4

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Abstract

A single-crystal gemstone of intermediate olivine-type triphylite-lithiophilite with the composition Li(Fe0.56Mn0.42)P1.02O4 was investigated by vibrational spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques. Though gem-quality, the crystal reveals lamellar, platy inclusions parallel to (100) with a length of up to > 10 μm and a thickness of up to 1–2 μm. These were identified as sarcopside, (Fe,Mn)3(PO4)2, yielding a higher Fe:Mn ratio than the host triphylite. Polarised infrared spectra of oriented triphylite sections show a weak, pleochroic band in the O-H stretching region that is centred at ~ 3444 cm-1. Its integrated total absorbance corresponds to a hydrogen content of only 3.7 wt.ppm H2O. Using peak-fitting techniques the band is decomposed into three component bands at ~ 3419, 3444, and 3474 cm-1 which are least intense in the [010] spectra and which show stronger absorptions in the [001] and [100] directions. Thus, O-H vectors almost parallel to the (010) plane, pointing closer to the a or to the c axes are assumed. Three ways of hydrogen incorporation are in agreement with this observation: (a) hydrous species at the oriented interfaces between triphylite host and sarcopside lamellae, (b) hydrogen from submicroscopic inclusions of hydrous phosphate minerals such as phosphoferrite-reddingite, (Fe,Mn)3(PO4)2 · 3H2O, (c) hydrous point defects in the structure of triphylite and/or sarcopside, which are possible under the assumption of vacancies at the Li (M1) and/or P sites.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to G. Giester for help with X-ray single-crystal orientation and lattice parameter determination, and to A. Wagner for sample preparation. B. Rieck provided two reference samples of phosphoferrite and reddingite. The comments of two anonymous referees and of journal editor R. Abart helped to improve the manuscript. We appreciate financial support by the European Commission through the program Human Potential-Research Training Network, No. HPRN-CT-2000-0056, “Hydrogen Speciation in Upper Mantle Minerals”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mineralogy and Crystallography, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    Eugen Libowitzky & Anton Beran

  2. Institute of Geosciences, Hydrogeology, Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena, Burgweg 11, D-07749, Jena, Germany

    Arkadiusz K. Wieczorek

  3. Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ, Section 3.3, Telegrafenberg, D-14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Richard Wirth

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  1. Eugen Libowitzky
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  2. Anton Beran
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Correspondence to Eugen Libowitzky.

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Editorial handling: R. Abart

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Libowitzky, E., Beran, A., Wieczorek, A.K. et al. On the presence of a hydrous component in a gemstone variety of intermediate olivine-type triphylite-lithiophilite, Li(Fe,Mn)PO4 . Miner Petrol 105, 31–39 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00710-012-0195-9

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