Structure of mineral glasses—III. NaAlSi3O8 supercooled liquid at 805°C and the effects of thermal history

The distribution of interatomic distances in amorphous NaAlSi₃O₈ has been determined at 805°C by X-ray radial distribution analysis to investigate structural differences between the glass (T < 763°C) and the supercooled liquid (763°C < T < 1118°C). Except for slight differences attributable to thermal expansion, no significant changes were observed. The sample crystallized during the course of the experiment, but at least one crystal-free data set was obtained. The transition from the inferred six-membered ring structure of the supercooled liquid to the four-membered ring structure of the crystal was clearly visible in radial distribution function (RDF's) determined before and after crystallization.RDF's were also determined at 25°C for two NaAlSi₃O₈ glasses with different histories. The first was derived from a melt that had been cooled slowly from 1600 to 32°C above the melting point (T_f = 1118°C) to detect possible repolymerization to a more ‘crystal-like’ structure as the melt approached T_f. The second glass was prepared by holding a single crystal of Amelia albite at 50°C above T_f to see if the crystalline four-membered ring structure was preserved in melts at temperatures just above the liquidus. No significant differences were observed between these two RDF's and one obtained from a glass quenched from 1800°C. These results suggest that in addition to the destruction of formation of a periodic structure, melting and crystallization in NaAlSi₃O₈ also involves a repolymerization of tetrahedra. This would explain the observed kinetic barrier to melting and crystallization in the anhydrous system and the catalytic effect of small amounts of water or alkali oxide.