Polyamorphic Transformations in Fe-Ni-C Liquids: Implications for Chemical Evolution of Terrestrial Planets

Lai, Xiaojing; Chen, Bin; Wang, Jianwei; Kono, Yoshio; Zhu, Feng

doi:10.1002/2017jb014835

Title: Polyamorphic Transformations in Fe-Ni-C Liquids: Implications for Chemical Evolution of Terrestrial Planets

Journal Article · Thu Nov 23 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2017jb014835· OSTI ID:1418049

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Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States)
Carnegie Inst. of Washington, Argonne, IL (United States). High Pressure Collaborative Access Team (HPCAT)
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

During the formation of the Earth's core, the segregation of metallic liquids from silicate mantle should have left behind evident geochemical imprints on both the mantle and the core. Some distinctive geochemical signatures of the mantle-derived rocks likely own their origin to the metal-silicate differentiation of the primitive Earth, setting our planet apart from undifferentiated meteorites as well as terrestrial planets or moons isotopically and compositionally. Understanding the chemical evolution of terrestrial planetary bodies requires knowledge on properties of both liquid iron alloys and silicates equilibrating under physicochemical conditions pertinent to the deep magma ocean. Here we report experimental and computational results on the pressure-induced structural evolution of iron-nickel liquids alloyed with carbon. Our X-ray diffraction experiments up to 7.3 gigapascals (GPa) demonstrate that Fe-Ni (Fe₉₀Ni₁₀) liquids alloyed with 3 and 5 wt % carbon undergo a polyamorphic liquid structure transition at approximately 5 GPa. Corroborating the experimental observations, our first-principles molecular dynamic calculations reveal that the structural transitions result from the marked prevalence of three-atom face-sharing polyhedral connections in the liquids at >5 GPa. The structure and polyamorphic transitions of liquid iron-nickel-carbon alloys govern their physical and chemical properties and may thus cast fresh light on the chemical evolution of terrestrial planets and moons.

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Research Organization:: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0001974; AC02-06CH11357; AC02-05CH11231; EAR-1555388; EAR-1565708; EAR-1565678; FG02-99ER45775

OSTI ID:: 1418049

Journal Information:: Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth, Vol. 122, Issue 12; ISSN 2169-9313

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: ENGLISH

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Cited by: 10 works

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