Mineral systematics
Research group
Spectroscopic, structural evaluation and characterisation of
minerals and materials
Aims
To determine the influence of chemistry and site partitioning upon macroscopic physical properties including optical absorption, reflectance and thermodynamic behaviour, and to characterise minerals and mineral groups for reference and future research purposes.
Description
Quantitative knowledge of the distribution of elements between crystallographically distinct sites in minerals is a prerequisite for determining the conditions of formation and subsequent thermal and baric evolution of the host or parent rock. Such knowledge is important in the related field of materials science. To this end, members of the team are studying the site partitioning of a wide range of elements in petrologically, economically and technologically important mineral groups. Platinum-group minerals, amphiboles and aurivillius phases. The team also has a continuing commitment to the characterisation of reference or type minerals and the study of systematic mineralogy.
A wide range of complementary techniques is used within the programme, including:
- Rietveld refinement of structures from powder X-ray and neutron diffraction data
- Electron diffraction
- X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
- UV-vis microscope-spectrophotometry
- MAS NMR spectroscopy.
Research team
- Dr Gordon Cressey
- Dr Mark Welch
- Dr Paul Schofield
- Dr Javier Cuadros
For further information contact:
Dr Gordon Cressey
Tel : +44 (0)20 7942 5711
Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 5537
email