Thermodynamic properties and phase stability of wadsleyite II

The thermodynamical stability of a newly observed wadsleyite II phase in the Mg2SiO4 system is studied by the density functional theory. The wadsleyite II equation of state has been derived. The phase boundaries of Mg2SiO4 polymorphs: wadsleyite, wadsleyite II and ringwoodite are studied using the quasi-harmonic approximation at high external pressures. Clapeyron slopes determined for wadsleyite II–ringwoodite and wadsleyite–wadsleyite II boundaries are 0.0047 and 0.0058 GPa/K, respectively. It is shown that the wadsleyite II phase is not thermodynamically preferred in the pure Mg2SiO4 system and will probably not occur between wadsleyite and ringwoodite phases.