57Fe Mössbauer measurements and electronic structure calculations on natural lawsonites

Three natural lawsonites from Syke Rock, Mendocino Co., Reed Ranch, Marin Co., and Blake Gardens, Sonoma Co., all from the Coast Range Region in California, were studied by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis, and X-ray powder diffraction. The samples contain about 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 wt% of total iron oxide, respectively. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra are consistent with the assumption that high-spin Fe³⁺ substitutes for Al in the octahedrally coordinated site. The Mössbauer spectrum of lawsonite from Syke Rock exhibits a second doublet with ⁵⁷Fe hyperfine parameters typical for octahedrally coordinated high-spin Fe²⁺. Electronic structure calculations in the local spin density approximation yield quadrupole splittings for Fe³⁺ in quantitative agreement with experiment indicating, however, that substitution of Al by Fe³⁺ must be accompanied by local distortion around the octahedral site. Model calculations also reproduce the room temperature hyperfine parameters of ferrous high-spin iron assuming the substitution of Ca by Fe²⁺. However, it cannot be excluded that Fe²⁺ may occupy a more asymmetric site within the microstructural cavity occupied by Ca and a H₂O molecule.