July 12, 2014
Ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) and density functional theory methods are used to predict structures of calcium and magnesium carbonate (CaCO$_3$ and MgCO$_3$) at high pressures. We find a previously unknown CaCO$_3$ structure which is more stable than the aragonite and "post aragonite" phases in the range 32--48 GPa. At pressures from 67 GPa to well over 100 GPa the most stable phase is a previously unknown CaCO$_3$ structure of the pyroxene type with fourfold coordinated carbon atoms. We also predict a stable structure of MgCO$_3$ in the range 85--101 GPa. Our results lead to a revision of the phase diagram of CaCO$_3$ over more than half the pressure range encountered within the Earth's mantle, and smaller changes to the phase diagram of MgCO$_3$. We predict CaCO$_3$ to be more stable than MgCO$_3$ in the Earth's mantle above 100 GPa, and that CO$_2$ is not a thermodynamically stable compound under deep mantle conditions. Our results have significant implications for understanding the Earth's deep carbon cycle.
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September 8, 2017
The stability, structure and properties of carbonate minerals at lower mantle conditions has significant impact on our understanding of the global carbon cycle and the composition of the interior of the Earth. In recent years, there has been significant interest in the behavior of carbonates at lower mantle conditions, specifically in their carbon hybridization, which has relevance for the storage of carbon within the deep mantle. Using high-pressure synchrotron X-ray diffrac...
July 11, 2017
Calcium and magnesium carbonates are believed to be the host compounds for most of the oxidized carbon in the Earth's mantle. Here, using evolutionary crystal structure prediction method USPEX, we systematically explore the MgO-CO2 and CaO-CO2 systems at pressures ranging from 0 to 160 GPa to search for thermodynamically stable magnesium and calcium carbonates. While MgCO3 is the only stable magnesium carbonate, three calcium carbonates are stable under pressure: well-known C...
April 19, 2018
We present a theoretical investigation, based on ab initio calculations and the quasi-harmonic approximation, on the stability properties of magnesium (MgCO$_3$) and calcium (CaCO$_3$) carbonates at high temperatures and pressures. The results indicate that those carbonates should be stable in Earth's lower mantle, instead of dissociating into other minerals, in chemical environments with excesses of SiO$_2$, MgO, or MgSiO$_3$. Therefore, considering the lower mantle chemical...
Carbonates are the main species that bring carbon deep into our planet through subduction. They are an important rock-forming mineral group, fundamentally distinct from silicates in Earth's crust in that carbon binds to three oxygen atoms, while silicon is bonded to four oxygens. Here, we present experimental evidence that under the sufficiently high pressures and high temperatures existing in the lower mantle, ferromagnesian carbonates transform to a phase with tetrahedrally...
February 11, 2015
Structures of calcium peroxide (CaO2) are investigated in the pressure range 0-200 GPa using the ab initio random structure searching (AIRSS) method and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. At 0 GPa, there are several CaO2 structures very close in enthalpy, with the ground-state structure dependent on the choice of exchange-correlation functional. Further stable structures for CaO2 with C2/c, I4/mcm and P21/c symmetries emerge at pressures below 40 GPa. These phases ...
The exceptional ability of carbon to form sp2 and sp3 bonding states leads to a great structural and chemical diversity of carbon-bearing phases at non-ambient conditions. Here we use laser-heated diamond anvil cells combined with synchrotron x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations to explore phase transitions in CaCO3 at P > 40 GPa. We find that post-aragonite CaCO3 transforms to the previously predicted P21/c-CaCO3 with sp3-hybridized carbon...
Investigating the fate of dissolved carbon dioxide under extreme conditions is critical to understanding the deep carbon cycle in the Earth, a process that ultimately influences global climate change. We used first-principles molecular dynamics simulations to study carbonates and carbon dioxide dissolved in water at pressures (P) and temperatures (T) approximating the conditions of the Earth's upper mantle. Contrary to popular geochemical models assuming that molecular CO$_2$...
January 10, 2020
We investigate the effect of pressure, temperature and acidity on the composition of water-rich carbon-bearing fluids at thermodynamic conditions that correspond to the Earth's deep Crust and Upper Mantle. Our first-principles molecular dynamics simulations provide mechanistic insight into the hydration shell of carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and carbonate ions, and on the pathways of the acid/base reactions that convert these carbon species into one another in aqueous solutions...
September 28, 2010
Prediction of stable crystal structures at given pressure-temperature conditions, based only on the knowledge of the chemical composition, is a central problem of condensed matter physics. This extremely challenging problem is often termed "crystal structure prediction problem", and recently developed evolutionary algorithm USPEX (Universal Structure Predictor: Evolutionary Xtallography) made an important progress in solving it, enabling efficient and reliable prediction of s...
March 8, 2016
The physicochemical behavior of elements and compounds is heavily altered by high pressure. The occurrence of pressure-induced reactions and phase transitions can be revealed by crystal structure prediction approaches. In this work, we explore the C-H-O phase diagram up to 400 GPa exploiting an evolutionary algorithm for crystal structure predictions along with ab initio calculations. Besides uncovering new stable polymorphs of high-pressure elements and known molecules, we p...