Thermodynamic Analysis of NixFe1 – x Alloy Oxidation
摘要
This paper reports the thermodynamic analysis of NixFe1-x oxidation for awaruite, Ni3Fe, which is widespread in serpentinized ultrabasic rocks, and other Ni–Fe phases over a wide range of temperatures (400–1873 K) and crustal pressures up to 2 kbar. It was found that the equilibrium γ(NixFe1 – x)–Fe oxides constrains oxygen fugacity (fO2) at the NNO–IW range. For γ(NixFe1 – x) with an iron mole fraction x ≥ 0.5, fO2 approaches the IW buffer. The reaction of kamacite, α(Ni0.05Fe0.95), with oxygen is close to the IW–IM buffer reactions. The fO2 values of awaruite preservation are no higher than ∆QFM = –(7.8–5.2) at T = 400–600 K and increase to ∆QFM = –(2.7–2.0) at T > 1000–1200 K. The obtained approximations of the temperature dependence of fO2 can be used to estimate the redox conditions in low-sulfide systems containing NixFe1 – x under the conditions of the Earth’s crust.