Application of X-Ray Diffraction Method for Characterization of Crystalline Basalt Samples

Abstract

Abstract X-ray powder diffraction technique is used in this work to investigate the contents and the crystal structure of basalt gneiss, which are prepared by mechanical milling to get homogeneous powder. The experimental x-ray pattern of the sample was smoothed and then analyzed by using a standard pattern. The results are reported for quartz (hexagonal), biotite (monoclinic system), and anorthite (triclinic) the parameters of the crystal systems are found to be aQuartz = bQuartz = 4.916, cQuartz = 5.4090 and αQuartz =βQuartz = 90°, γQuartz = 120° for quartz, aBiotite = 5.3520 bBiotite = 9.2660, cBiotite = 10.3130 and with αBiotite = γBiotite = 90°, βBiotite = 100.2240° for biotite, and aAnorthite = 7.5980, bAnorthite = 7.6250, cAnorthite = 12.8788 with αAnorthite = 91.3470° , βAnorthite = 97.7100° and γ Anorthite = 115.0300° for anorthite. While the volume of unit cells are found to be (VUnit cell)Quartz = 113.21 × 106Pm3, (VUnitCell)Biotite = 503.32 × 106Pm3, (VUnit cell)Anorthite = 667.26 × 106Pm3, for quartz, biotite and anorthite. The numbers of unit cell and the atomic densities are recorded as (na.u.c)Quartz = 3.00, (ρCal)Quartz = 2.64 g/cm3, for quartz, (na.u.c)Biotite = 1.00, (ρCal)Biotite = 3.03 g/cm3, for biotite and (na.u.c)Anorthite = 8.00, (ρCal)Quartz = 2.70 g/cm3, for anorthite. From the results of this work, basalt is found to be mixture of the molecules with percentages of 17.7% for quartz, 18.6% for biotite and 63.7% for anorthite. The results were compared with the standard results for the same molecules.