An elevated temperature X-ray study of synthetic disordered Na-K alkali feldspars

The temperature dependence of cell parameters for three disordered, synthetic alkali feldspars (Or₁₉, Or₃₈, and Or₁₀₀) has been determined up to 1,000 °C. The samples show no change in composition or degree of Si-Al disorder during the experiments. The triclinic-monoclinic inversion in the sample of composition Or₁₉ occurs at 560 °±10 °C and is accompanied by changes in the rates of expansion of a, b and c; the rate for a increases and those for b and c decrease above the inversion. The b and c parameters in Or₁₀₀ show small decreases with increasing temperature and this may be due to thermal motion effects causing a contraction of cell directions that are fully expanded at room temperature. Calculation of the thermal expansion ellipsoids for the monoclinic phases shows that the major expansion coefficients (₁) for all three samples are more than an order of magnitude greater than the intermediate (₂) and minor (₃) coefficients. Thus the thermal expansion of these phases is dominated by that of ₁ which makes an angle of 22 ± 4 ° with+a; this orientation is parallel to that of the short M-OA2 bonds. The thermal expansion mechanism for monoclinic, disordered alkali feldspars may involve tilting within the framework releasing compression along this direction and allowing the M-OA2 bonds to show high expansion rates. The stretching of the crankshaft units, which are parallel to a, may only play a subordinate role in controlling the expansion of the feldspar framework.