Thermal expansion behaviour of orthopyroxenes: the role of the Fe-Mn substitution

Two Pbca orthopyroxene samples, donpeacorite (DP N.1) and enstatite (B22 N.60) with chemical formulae Mn0.54Ca0.03Mg1.43Si2O6 (XMn = 0.27) and Fe0.54Ca0.03Mg1.43Si2O6 (XFe = 0.27), respectively, were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at high-temperature conditions. The nearly identical XFe and XMn make the two samples the perfect candidates to investigate the effect of the compositional change at the M2 site (i.e. Fe-Mn substitution) on the thermal expansion behaviour of orthopyroxenes. Therefore, the unit-cell parameter thermal expansion behaviour of both samples has been investigated in the temperature range between room T and 1073 K. No evidence for phase transitions was found over that range. The two samples have been previously disordered with an ex situ annealing at ~1273 K. The unit-cell parameters and volume thermal expansion data, collected on the disordered samples, have been fitted to a Fei Equation of State (EoS) and the following coefficients obtained: V0