First-principles study of (MgH2SiO4)? n (Mg2SiO4) hydrous olivine structures. I. Crystal structure modelling of hydrous olivine Hy-2 a (MgH2SiO4) ? 3(Mg2SiO4)

 Recently, the Hy-2a hydrous olivine (MgH₂ SiO₄)·3(Mg₂SiO₄) occurring as nanometre-sized inclusions in mantle olivines has been found by TEM, and has been suggested to be a new DHMS phase (Khisina et al. 2001). A model of the crystal structure of Hy-2a has been proposed as a 2a-superstructure of olivine with one Me²⁺ -vacant octahedral layer in the (1 0 0) plane per Hy-2a unit cell (Khisina and Wirth 2002). In the present study the crystal structure of Hy-2a hydrous olivine is optimized by ab initio calculations. The aims of this study are: (1) verification of the suggested models of Hy-2a hydrous olivine structure; (2) calculation of the most stable configurations for Hy-2a structure with minimum static lattice energy, by assuming a possible formation of Me²⁺ vacancies in either M1 or M2 octahedral sites; (3) determination of the position of protons and hydrogen bonds in the Hy-2a structure. Several different possible configurations of the Hy-2a structure are optimized. The results support the idea of a stable olivine structure with ordered planar-segregated OH-bearing defects oriented parallel to (1 0 0). The data obtained indicate a preferred stability of the Hy-2a structure with the protons associated with M1 vacancies and bonded with O1 and O2 oxygen sites. The relative energy values of the optimized Hy-2a structure configurations correlate as a rule with the average shifts of atoms from their positions in pure forsterite structure. Received: 7 February 2002 / Accepted: 23 October 2002