The Crystal-chemistry of Pumpellyite - An X-ray Rietveld Refinement and Fe-57 Mossbauer Study

Pumpellyite of the general formula W8X4Y8Z12O56-n(OH)n contains Fe, Al and Mg in two crystallographically different octahedral sites. Three different pumpellyite samples covering the known compositional field from Al- to Fe-rich have been studied to determine the valence state and intracrystalline partitioning of the Fe cations between the two independent octahedral sites. Fe+2 and Fe+3 cation partitioning is interpreted on the basis of results obtained by Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy at 293 and 77 K and from Rietveld structure analysis performed on powder X-ray diffraction data. Pumpellyite from low-grade metamorphic rocks typically contains a majority of iron in the Fe+3 oxidation state, which is found in the smaller and less symmetrical octahedral Y-site. Fe+2 was also present in all pumpellyite samples studied and it is located in the larger and more symmetrical octahedral X-site.