Phase stabilities of carbonates and reactions between carbonates and mantle minerals at high pressures and temperatures studied in the LH-DAC by CARS and TRLFS
In project 1 we want to employ new experimental techniques in order to overcome conventional limits in Raman spectroscopy – a technique which is used for several decades to get insights on the properties of a bright range of materials and minerals. Our goal is to understand phase relations of carbonates, which play an extraordinary role in planetary processes like the global carbon cycle. Our laboratory techniques allow us to reconstruct pressure and temperature conditions comparable to the earth mantle. To do so, we use Diamond anvil cells to generate the pressure and high power Lasers to heat the sample to temperatures above 1000 K. Our approach is to obtain the behavior of our samples while they are under these extreme conditions.
Additionally, we want to study not only the pure materials, but also reactions between different materials like carbonates and silicates.
Our spectroscopic methods include Raman, coherent anti-Sokes Raman and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectroscopic studies are supplemented by X-Ray diffraction – as we do have access to large research facilities like PETRA III in Hamburg and ESRF in Grenoble – as well as in-house diffractometers in our Frankfurt laboratories and DFT model calculations.
