The stability and phase relations of iron chlorite below 8.5 kb P_{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}}

Iron chlorites with compositions intermediate between the two end-members daphnite (Fe₅Al₂Si₃O₁₀(OH)₈) and pseudothuringite (Fe₄Al₄Si₂O₁₀(OH)₈) were synthesized from mixtures of reagent chemicals. The polymorph with a 7 Å basal spacing initially crystallized from these mixtures at 300 °C and 2 kb after two weeks. Conversion to a 14 Å chlorite required a further 6 weeks at 550 °C. Shorter conversion times were required at higher water pressures. The products contained up to 20% impurities.The maximum equilibrium decomposition temperature for iron chlorite, approximately 550 °C at 2kb, is at an between assemblages (1) and (2) listed below. Synthetic iron chlorite will break down by various reactions with variable P, T, and fugacity of oxygen. For the composition FeAlSi = 523, the sequence of high temperature breakdown products with increasing traversing the magnetite field for P _total = =2kb is: (1) corierite+ fayalite+hercynite; (2) cordierite+fay alite+magnetite; (3) cordierite+magnetite+quartz; (4) magnetite+mullite+quartz. Almandine should replace cordierite in assemblages (1) and (2) but it did not nucleate. The significance of the relationship between iron cordierite and almandine in this system is discussed.At water pressures from 4 to 8.5 kb and at the nickel-bunsite buffer, iron chlorite+quartz break down to iron gedrite+magnetite with temperature 550 to 640 °C along the curve. At temperatures 50 °C greater and along a parallel curve, almandine replaces iron gedrite. For on this buffer curve, almandine is unstable below approximately 4 kb for temperatures to approximately 750 °C.