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Title: Spin Transitions and Compressibility of ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N: Implications for Iron Alloys in Terrestrial Planet Cores

Abstract

Iron nitrides are possible constituents of the cores of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Pressure-induced magnetic changes in iron nitrides and effects on compressibility remain poorly understood. Here we report synchrotron X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results for ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N up to 60 GPa at 300 K. The XES spectra reveal completion of high- to low-spin transition in ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N at 43 and 34 GPa, respectively. The completion of the spin transition induces stiffening in bulk modulus of ε-Fe7N3 by 22% at similar to 40 GPa, but has no resolvable effect on the compression behavior of γ'-Fe4N. Fitting pressure-volume data to the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state yields V0 = 83.29 ± 0.03 (Å3), K0 = 232 ± 9 GPa, K0' = 4.1 ± 0.5 for nonmagnetic ε-Fe7N3 above the spin transition completion pressure, and V0 = 54.82 ± 0.02 (Å3), K0 = 152 ± 2 GPa, K0' = 4.0 ± 0.1 for γ'-Fe4N over the studied pressure range. By reexamining evidence for spin transition and effects on compressibility of other candidate components of terrestrial planet cores, Fe3S, Fe3P, Fe7C3, and Fe3C based on previous XES and XRD measurements, we located the completion of high- tomore » low-spin transition at similar to 67, 38, 50, and 30 GPa at 300 K, respectively. The completion of spin transitions of Fe3S, Fe3P, and Fe3C induces elastic stiffening, whereas that of Fe7C3 induces elastic softening. Changes in compressibility at completion of spin transitions in iron-light element alloys may influence the properties of Earth's and planetary cores.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6]; ORCiD logo [1]
  1. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
  2. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
  3. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  4. Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
  5. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  6. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Illinois, Chicago, IL (United States); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP); National Science Foundation (NSF). Directorate for Geosciences Division of Earth Sciences (GEO/EAR)
OSTI Identifier:
1775105
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1786779; OSTI ID: 1797961
Grant/Contract Number:  
NA0003975; FG02-94ER14466; AC02-06CH11357; EAR-1751664; EAR-1763189; AST-1344133; EAR-1634415; EAR-1606856; DE‐FG02‐94ER14466
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 125; Journal Issue: 11; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9313
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES

Citation Formats

Lv, Mingda, Liu, Jiachao, Zhu, Feng, Li, Jie, Zhang, Dongzhou, Xiao, Yuming, and Dorfman, Susannah M. Spin Transitions and Compressibility of ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N: Implications for Iron Alloys in Terrestrial Planet Cores. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1029/2020jb020660.
Lv, Mingda, Liu, Jiachao, Zhu, Feng, Li, Jie, Zhang, Dongzhou, Xiao, Yuming, & Dorfman, Susannah M. Spin Transitions and Compressibility of ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N: Implications for Iron Alloys in Terrestrial Planet Cores. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jb020660
Lv, Mingda, Liu, Jiachao, Zhu, Feng, Li, Jie, Zhang, Dongzhou, Xiao, Yuming, and Dorfman, Susannah M. Sat . "Spin Transitions and Compressibility of ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N: Implications for Iron Alloys in Terrestrial Planet Cores". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020jb020660. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1775105.
@article{osti_1775105,
title = {Spin Transitions and Compressibility of ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N: Implications for Iron Alloys in Terrestrial Planet Cores},
author = {Lv, Mingda and Liu, Jiachao and Zhu, Feng and Li, Jie and Zhang, Dongzhou and Xiao, Yuming and Dorfman, Susannah M.},
abstractNote = {Iron nitrides are possible constituents of the cores of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Pressure-induced magnetic changes in iron nitrides and effects on compressibility remain poorly understood. Here we report synchrotron X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results for ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N up to 60 GPa at 300 K. The XES spectra reveal completion of high- to low-spin transition in ε-Fe7N3 and γ'-Fe4N at 43 and 34 GPa, respectively. The completion of the spin transition induces stiffening in bulk modulus of ε-Fe7N3 by 22% at similar to 40 GPa, but has no resolvable effect on the compression behavior of γ'-Fe4N. Fitting pressure-volume data to the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state yields V0 = 83.29 ± 0.03 (Å3), K0 = 232 ± 9 GPa, K0' = 4.1 ± 0.5 for nonmagnetic ε-Fe7N3 above the spin transition completion pressure, and V0 = 54.82 ± 0.02 (Å3), K0 = 152 ± 2 GPa, K0' = 4.0 ± 0.1 for γ'-Fe4N over the studied pressure range. By reexamining evidence for spin transition and effects on compressibility of other candidate components of terrestrial planet cores, Fe3S, Fe3P, Fe7C3, and Fe3C based on previous XES and XRD measurements, we located the completion of high- to low-spin transition at similar to 67, 38, 50, and 30 GPa at 300 K, respectively. The completion of spin transitions of Fe3S, Fe3P, and Fe3C induces elastic stiffening, whereas that of Fe7C3 induces elastic softening. Changes in compressibility at completion of spin transitions in iron-light element alloys may influence the properties of Earth's and planetary cores.},
doi = {10.1029/2020jb020660},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth},
number = 11,
volume = 125,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}

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