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高校地质学报 ›› 2024, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (02): 119-132.DOI: 10.16108/j.issn1006-7493.2023019

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脱水对Ca-Mg-Ba-CO3 无定形相前驱体相变控制的分子模拟研究:白云石与钡白云石的对比探究

陈 䶮,朱翔宇,滕 辉*   

  1. 天津大学 地球系统科学学院,天津 300072
  • 出版日期:2024-04-20 发布日期:2024-04-20

Molecular Simulations on the Controls of Phase Transition of Ca-Mg-Ba-CO3 Amorphous Precursors by Dehydration: Comparative Study of Dolomite and Norsethite

CHEN Yan,ZHU Xiangyu,TENG Hui*   

  1. School of Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
  • Online:2024-04-20 Published:2024-04-20

摘要: 白云石为地表分布最广泛的碳酸盐矿物之一,大量发育于古老地层中,现代海洋环境中鲜有出露。经过几十年的研究发现,低温条件下很难成功合成有序白云石,其成因问题仍悬而未决,因此“白云石问题”无疑是地质学上最长久的难题之一。主流观点认为原因是Mg2+的水合作用阻碍了Mg2+进入碳酸盐矿物晶格,然而最新研究提出,白云石结晶最大的限制因素可能在于无定形相前驱体的结构约束。溶液中无定形前驱体转化结晶为白云石时,脱水作用对结晶方式起着举足轻重的影响。文章采用分子动力学模拟的方法,研究Ca-Mg-Ba-CO3系统中含水无定形前驱体的相变脱水过程。结果表明,脱水过程中系统密度显著上升,但金属阳离子与其他离子的距离受脱水影响小,且总配位数不变。动力学方面,含水无定形Ca-Mg-CO3和Ba-Mg-CO3前驱体(即ACMC和ABMC)具有相似的扩散行为,前者的粒子移动性较低,对成核团簇的聚集产生阻碍作用。热力学方面,二者的脱水焓有显著差异,ACMC的脱水焓更高,且脱去结构中最后的H2O十分困难,而这部分H2O会为了结构稳定干扰脱水过程,进而影响结晶进行。因此,限制白云石结晶的主要原因可能为低水合态时难以脱去维持结构稳定性的H2O。该研究系统地探讨了脱水作用对白云石和钡白云石结晶的控制作用,为“白云石问题”的解决提供新的思考。

关键词: 白云石, 钡白云石, 无定形相, 脱水, 分子动力学模拟

Abstract: Dolomite, one of the most widely distributed carbonate minerals on the Earth’s surface, is abundantly developed in ancient strata, but rarely exposed in modern marine environments. After decades of research, few low-temperature experiments have been reported to successfully synthesize ordered dolomite. The mineralization behavior of dolomite is one of the most intriguing mysteries. Conventional wisdom theories that Mg2+ hydration is the critical limit for Mg2+ to enter carbonate lattice. However, a recent study unveiled evidence questioning this premise and instead indicated that the structural constraints in the relevant amorphous precursor phase may play a more important role. Because transformation and crystallization of amorphous precursor phase in solution is a likely crystallization pathway for dolomite formation, and dehydration may have a pivotal effect on this process. Therefore, we carried out a study using molecular dynamics simulations to study the phase transition and dehydration process of amorphous precursors in Ca-Mg-Ba-CO3 systems. The results show that the density increases significantly during the dehydration process, but the distances between metal cations and other ions are little affected and the total coordination number is unchanged. In terms of translational dynamics, the diffusion behavior of amorphous precursors in hydrated Ca-Mg-CO3 and Ba-Mg-CO3 systems (i.e., ACMC and ABMC) are similar, but the particle of ACMC is less mobile, hindering the aggregation of nucleation clusters. Thermodynamically, there is a significant difference in the dehydration enthalpy between ACMC and ABMC systems, with ACMC system having a higher dehydration enthalpy and the difficulty in losing the last few H2O molecule from the structure, presumably limiting dolomite crystallization. This study systematically addressed the role of dehydration in controlling the crystallization of dolomite and norsethite and the findings of this study may provide insight into the “dolomite problem”.

Key words: dolomite, norsethite, amorphous phase, dehydration, molecular dynamics simulation

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