Distribution of some trivalent ions between melt and single crystals of Mg2SiO4 grown by the Czochralski method

Partition coefficients for trace amounts of trivalent ions between artificial single crystals of Mg₂SiO₄ grown by the Czochralski method and the coexisting melt have been determined by neutron activation analysis. They are found to vary greatly with the amount of visible imperfections in the crystal and slightly with the concentration of the ions in the melt. Plots of the partition coefficients against ionic radius of the trace ions give a pattern which agrees qualitatively with that found in a natural olivine phenocryst-groundmass pair.