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Single-crystal elastic properties of alunite, KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6

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Abstract

The single-crystal elastic constants of natural alunite (ideally KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6) were determined by Brillouin spectroscopy. Chemical analysis by electron microprobe gave a formula KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6. Single crystal X-ray diffraction refinement with R 1 = 0.0299 for the unique observed reflections (|F o| > 4σ F) and wR 2 = 0.0698 for all data gave a = 6.9741(3) Å, c = 17.190(2) Å, fractional positions and thermal factors for all atoms. The elastic constants (in GPa), obtained by fitting the spectroscopic data, are C 11 = 181.9 ± 0.3, C 33 = 66.8 ± 0.8, C 44 = 42.8 ± 0.2, C 12 = 48.2 ± 0.5, C 13 = 27.1 ± 1.0, C 14 = 5.4 ± 0.5, and C 66 = ½(C 11–C 12) = 66.9 ± 0.3 GPa. The VRH averages of bulk and shear modulus are 63 and 49 GPa, respectively. The aggregate Poisson ratio is 0.19. The high value of the ratio C 11/C 33 = 2.7 and of the ratio C 66/C 44 = 1.6 are characteristic of an anisotropic structure with very weak interlayer interactions along the c-axis. The basal plane (001) is characterized by 0.1% longitudinal acoustic anisotropy and 0.9–1.1% shear acoustic anisotropy, which gives alunite a characteristic pseudo-hexagonal elastic behavior, and is related to the pseudo-hexagonal arrangement of the Al(O,OH)6 octahedra in the basal layer. The elastic Debye temperature of alunite is 654 K. The large discrepancy between the elastic and heat capacity Debye temperature is also a consequence of the layered structure.

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Acknowledgments

We thank M. Rieder for the editorial handling of the manuscript and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. J.M. thanks the Hess fellowship at the Department of Geosciences (Princeton U.) for the support. S.S. is supported by the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science. We thank U. Becker (U. Michigan-Ann Arbor) for providing the input file for jarosite GULP calculations, and D. Ozdín (Comenius U., Bratislava) for the electron microprobe analyses.

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  1. Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Albert-Ludwig-University of Freiburg, Alberstraße 23b, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    J. Majzlan

  2. Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    S. Speziale & T. S. Duffy

  3. Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    P. C. Burns

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  1. J. Majzlan
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Correspondence to J. Majzlan.

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Majzlan, J., Speziale, S., Duffy, T.S. et al. Single-crystal elastic properties of alunite, KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6 . Phys Chem Minerals 33, 567–573 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00269-006-0104-z

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