Volume 166, Numbers 1-4, 529-536, DOI: 10.1007/s10751-006-9321-6

57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction study of some complex metamict minerals

Dariusz Malczewski, Janusz E. Frąckowiak and Evgeny V. Galuskin

From the issue entitled "Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on the Applications of the Mössbauer Effect (ICAME 2005) held in Montpellier, France, 4-9 September 2005 Part II / V"

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Abstract

Metamict minerals are a class of natural amorphous materials which were initially crystalline but self-radiation damage mainly from alpha decays of 238U and 232Th series inside the structure can produce partially or fully amorphization (metamictization) of these minerals. This paper reports the results of 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, gamma-ray spectrometry and X-ray diffraction (XRD) study of some complex metamict minerals like: davidite-(La), gadolinite, steenstrupine-(Ce), vesuvianite and comparatively epidote. The absorbed α-dose for these minerals varies in wide range from 1.9 × 1014 α-decay/mg (epidote) to as high as 2.7 × 1016 α-decay/mg (steenstrupine). The Mössbauer spectra show decreasing IS values (except steenstrupine) for Fe2+ components with absorbed α-dose. Rather unexpected feature of these spectra is a noticeable decrease of the spectral line widths with increasing absorbed α-dose both Fe2+ and Fe3+ components in gadolinite, davidite and steenstrupine.

Key words  davidite - steenstrupine - vesuvianite - Mössbauer spectroscopy - metamict state

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