Hydrothermal Activities on C-Complex Asteroids Induced by Radioactivity

C-complex asteroids, rich in carbonaceous materials, are potential sources of Earth’s volatile inventories. They are spectrally dark resembling primitive carbonaceous meteorites, and thus, C-complex asteroids are thought to be potential parent bodies of carbonaceous meteorites. However, the substantial number of C-complex asteroids exhibits surface spectra with weaker hydroxyl absorption than water-rich carbonaceous meteorites. Rather, they best correspond to meteorites showing evidence for dehydration, commonly attributed to impact heating. Here, we report an old radiometric age of 4564.7 million years ago for Ca carbonates from the Jbilet Winselwan meteorite analogous to dehydrated C-complex asteroids. The carbonates are enclosed by a high-temperature polymorph of Ca sulfates, suggesting thermal metamorphism at >300°C subsequently after aqueous alteration. This old age indicates the early onset of aqueous alteration and subsequent thermal metamorphism driven by the decay of short-lived radionuclides rather than impact heating. The breakup of original asteroids internally heated by radioactivity should result in asteroid families predominantly consisting of thermally metamorphosed materials. This explains the common occurrence of dehydrated C-complex asteroids.

Selection of the two enantiotropic polymorphs of diF-TES-ADT in solution sheared thin film transistors

The modulation of the deposition speed in blends of diF-TES-ADT and polystyrene controls the formation of either the low-temperature or the high-temperature polymorph.

Fossil subduction recorded by quartz from the coesite stability field

Metamorphic rocks are the records of plate tectonic processes whose reconstruction relies on correct estimates of the pressures and temperatures (P-T) experienced by these rocks through time. Unlike chemical geothermobarometry, elastic geobarometry does not rely on chemical equilibrium between minerals, so it has the potential to provide information on overstepping of reaction boundaries and to identify other examples of non-equilibrium behavior in rocks. Here we introduce a method that exploits the anisotropy in elastic properties of minerals to determine the unique P and T of entrapment from a single inclusion in a mineral host. We apply it to preserved quartz inclusions in garnet from eclogite xenoliths hosted in Yakutian kimberlites (Russia). Our results demonstrate that quartz trapped in garnet can be preserved when the rock reaches the stability field of coesite (the high-pressure and high-temperature polymorph of quartz) at 3 GPa and 850 °C. This supports a metamorphic origin for these xenoliths and sheds light on the mechanisms of craton accretion from a subducted crustal protolith. Furthermore, we show that interpreting P and T conditions reached by a rock from the simple phase identification of key inclusion minerals can be misleading.

Crystal structure of the high-temperature form of the trisulfide Cs2S3 and the (3+1)D modulated structure of the telluride K37Te28

The high-temperature polymorph of the trisulfide Cs2S3, which has been synthesized from Cs2S2 and elemental sulfur, crystallizes in a new structure type (monoclinic, space group P21/c, a=999.97(4), b=1029.30(5), c=2642.07(12) pm, β=90.083(2)°, Z=16, R1=0.0324). The structure contains four crystallographically independent angled ${\rm{S}}_3^{2 - }$ trisulfide ions with S–S distances of 205.7–208.3 pm. The distorted b.c.c. packing of the anions and their insertion in the five-membered rings of 3.53+3.5.3.5. (1:1) Cs nets are similarly found in the r.t. form (Cmc21, K2S3-type structure) and the two polymorphs differ mainly in the orientation of the S3 groups. The second title compound, K37Te28, was synthesized from stoichiometric melts of the elements. It forms a complex (3+1)D modulated tetragonal structure (space group I41/amd (00σ3)s0s0, q=(0, 0, 0.5143), a=1923.22(2), c=2626.66(4) pm, Z=4, R1all=0.0837). According to K37Te28=K37[Te(1X)]8[Te(2X)2]6[Te(3X)8] the structure contains three different types of Te anions: The two crystallographically different isolated telluride anions [Te(1X)]2− are coordinated by 9/10 K+ cations. Three [Te(2X)2]2− dumbbells (dTe-Te=277.9/286.4 pm) are arranged to ‘hexamers’. The Te(31) and Te(32) atoms are located in columns of face-sharing K square antiprisms. Their z position modulation, which is accompanied by a smaller shift of the surrounding K+ cations, results in the decomposition of the [Te(3X)8]2 chain in a sequence |:Te3–Te2–Te2–Te3–Te2–Te2–Te2:| of dumbbells Te22− (dTe–Te=304 pm) and hypervalent linear trimers Te34− (dTe–Te=325 pm).

Additive-Manufacturing of 3D Glass-Ceramics down to Nanoscale Resolution

Fabrication of a true-3D inorganic ceramic with resolution down to nanoscale using sol-gel resist precursor is demonstrated. The method has an unrestricted free-form capability, control of the fill-factor, and high fabrication throughput. A systematic study of the proposed approach based on ultrafast laser 3D lithography of organic-inorganic hybrid sol-gel resin followed by a heat treatment enabled formation of inorganic amorphous and crystalline composites guided by the composition of the initial resin. The achieved resolution of 100 nm was obtained for 3D patterns of complex free-form architectures. Fabrication throughput of 50×103 voxels/s is achieved; voxel - a single volume element was recorded by a single pulse exposure. After a subsequent thermal treatment, ceramic phase was formed depending on the temperature and duration of the heat treatment as validated by Raman micro-spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed a gradual emergence of the crystalline phases at higher temperatures with a signature of cristobalite SiO2, a high-temperature polymorph. Also, the tetragonal ZrO2 phase known for its high fracture strength was observed. This 3D nano-sintering technique is scalable from nano- to millimeter dimensions and opens a conceptually novel route for optical 3D nano-printing of various crystalline inorganic materials defined by an initial composition for diverse applications for microdevices in harsh physical and chemical environments and high temperatures.