Applied crystal chemistry, earth materials

我的研究重点是与岩浆矿石有关的矿物(及其合成类似物)的化学和结构状态表征。我的长期目标是应用所获得的数据作为量化这些矿物形成的地质条件的手段。目前，我最感兴趣的是应用从Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE系统中的矿物分析获得的数据来定量评估初级结晶和生长条件以及可能改变它们的次生过程。这项工作目前涉及两个指令，第一个指令涉及Fe-Ni硫化物(磁黄铁矿矿物族，PMF)。磁黄铁矿是一族缺铁硫化物，构成岩浆矿床中最丰富的硫化物。350°C，但下面的复杂关系，由于Fe离子和空位的排列方式。一般来说，两种基本的PMF矿物是已知的，六方(HPO)和单斜(MPO)磁黄铁矿，并了解这两种矿物在模式丰度、它们的相互生长、微量元素化学、因此，我的目标是确定天然矿体中的HPO：MPO比率，以此作为了解化学成分和形成条件如何随时间变化的手段。第二个指令涉及铂族矿物(PGM)，这些矿物含有具有重要经济和技术意义的铂族元素(PGE)。传统上，铂族矿物由于其粒度小、化学成分复杂和高度多样化以及总体稀有性而鲜为人知。然而，由于PGE用于高科技行业(燃料电池、我的研究目标是通过分析原子排列来解决与这些矿物相关的一些突出的复杂性，并将研究结果与基于现场的数据结合起来，作为理解它们形成的一种手段。

My research focuses on the chemical and structural-state characterization of minerals (and their synthetic analogues) associated with magmatic ores.  The long-term goal is to apply obtained data as a means of quantifying the geological conditions under which these minerals developed.  Currently, I am most interested in applying data obtained from analyses of minerals in the Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE system to quantitatively assess primary conditions of crystallization and growth and secondary processes that may have modified them.This work currently involves two directives, the first involving Fe-Ni sulfides (Pyrrhotite Mineral Family, PMF).  Pyrrhotite is a family of Fe-deficient sulfides that constitute the most abundant sulfide in magmatic ore deposits.   The PMF exhibits fairly simple phase relations at T >350 °C, but complex relations below this, owing to the way that Fe ions and vacancies are arranged.  In general, two basic PMF minerals are known, hexagonal (hpo) and monoclinic (mpo) pyrrhotite, and understanding how the two vary in terms of modal abundance, their intergrowths, minor-element chemistry, etc. is critical to assessing how an ore body has evolved.  My goal is therefore to determine the hpo:mpo ratios in natural ore bodies to apply the data obtained as means of understanding how the chemistry and conditions of formation have been modified with time.  The second directive involves Platinum-Group Minerals (PGM) that host the economically and technologically important Platinum-Group Elements (PGE).  Traditionally, PGM have been poorly understood owing to their small grain sizes, complex and highly varied chemistries and because of their overall rarity.  However, PGE constitute important industrial commodities, owing to their use in high-tech industries (fuel cells, electronics) so an understanding of PGM and how they can be found is important.  My research goal is to resolve some of the outstanding complexities associated with these minerals, through analyses of the atomic arrangements, and to combine results from studies into their synthesis with field-based data as a means of understanding their formation.