X-ray single-crystal and Raman study of (Na0.86Mg0.14)(Mg0.57Ti0.43)Si2O6, a new pyroxene synthesized at 7 GPa and 1,700 °C

A new pyroxene with formula (Na0.86Mg0.14) (Mg0.57Ti0.43)Si2O6, synthesized in a high-pressure toroidal ‘anvil-with-hole’ apparatus at P = 7 GPa and T = 1700 °C, was characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The compound was found to be monoclinic (R1 = 2.56 %), space group C2/c, with lattice parameters a = 9.687(2), b = 8.814(1), c = 5.290(1) Å, β = 107.853(2)°, V = 430.08(1) Å3. The coexistence of Mg and Ti4+ at the M1 site does not induce strong modifications either to the M1 site or to the adjacent M2 site. The Raman spectrum of synthetic Na–Ti-pyroxene was obtained for the first time and compared with that of Mg2Si2O6 (with very low concentrations of Na and Ti). The structural characterization of the Na–Ti–Mg-pyroxene is important, because the study of its thermodynamic constants provides new constraints on thermobarometry of the upper mantle assemblages.