<p>Recently, steinhardite was <a href="http://wwwphy.princeton.edu/~steinh/steinhardtite.html" rel="nofollow">accepted</a> as a new mineral by the International Mineralogical Association.  It's quite an interesting story in its own right. There's an interesting article in <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329860.300-quasicrystal-quest-the-unreal-rock-that-nature-made.html" rel="nofollow">New Scientist</a> about it, but it's paywalled.</p>

<p>The formula for steinhardite is $\ce{Al63Cu24Fe13}$.  It's an ultra-rare quasicrystal, at least partially because of the mixture of aluminum without oxygen, as I understand it.</p>

<p>One of the critics (as quoted in the article)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>... who promptly declared the possibility
  of the sample being natural as ‘‘impossible’’. His
  concern was not the degree of perfection but,
  rather, the baffling presence of metallic Al in
  cupalite, khatyrkite and in the icosahedral
  quasicrystal phase. Metallic Al has a remarkably
  strong affinity for O, such that it could not
  possibly form naturally on the surface of the
  Earth, he argued ... he amended the conclusion to allow for the
  improbable possibility that it could have formed
  under the intense heat and pressure that exist near
  the core mantle boundary or in a high impact
  collision of meteors in space. [1]</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The core/mantle boundary is obviously rife with lots of chemical interactions, but what is it exactly about the conditions that prevents aluminum from oxidizing?  Is it just physical pressure or the presence of other gases?  </p>

<p>There's the obvious fact that the aluminum isn't exposed to the atmosphere, but my (limited) understanding is that oxygen is plentiful in combination with other elements like silicon.   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Reference:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Bindi, L. &amp; Steinhardt, P.J. (2014) The quest for forbidden crystals. <em>Mineralogical Magazine, 78</em>(2), 467–482. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2014.078.2.15" rel="nofollow">[DOI]</a> <a href="http://minmag.geoscienceworld.org/content/78/2/467.full.pdf" rel="nofollow">[PDF]</a> (seems to be freely available) </li>
  </ol>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-08T11:22:31.387Z
I think the key point is that there isn't that much oxygen in there. Especially when it's combined with silicon in a very stable way.
Gimelist
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-09T05:25:30.457Z
@Michael If you add a few more details, I think that's definitely a good answer.
jonsca
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-09T06:20:37.067Z
I'm sorry, but I do not know much about mantle-core boundary conditions. I guess I could look it up with the references on the article but that's too much for me now.
Gimelist
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-09T06:40:31.017Z
@Michael Not a problem, the question was just for curiosity's sake.  I was just offering you the opportunity to answer with the info from that comment if you wanted to.
jonsca
<geophysics><geochemistry><mineralogy>
What makes the conditions at the core/mantle boundary ideal for aluminum to combine with other elements besides oxygen?
jonsca
# What makes the conditions at the core/mantle boundary ideal for aluminum to combine with other elements besides oxygen?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-09-12)

Recently, steinhardite was [accepted](http://wwwphy.princeton.edu/~steinh/steinhardtite.html) as a new mineral by the International Mineralogical Association. It's quite an interesting story in its own right. There's an interesting article in [New Scientist](http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329860.300-quasicrystal-quest-the-unreal-rock-that-nature-made.html) about it, but it's paywalled.

The formula for steinhardite is $\ce{Al63Cu24Fe13}$. It's an ultra-rare quasicrystal, at least partially because of the mixture of aluminum without oxygen, as I understand it.

One of the critics (as quoted in the article)

> ... who promptly declared the possibility
> of the sample being natural as ‘‘impossible’’. His
> concern was not the degree of perfection but,
> rather, the baffling presence of metallic Al in
> cupalite, khatyrkite and in the icosahedral
> quasicrystal phase. Metallic Al has a remarkably
> strong affinity for O, such that it could not
> possibly form naturally on the surface of the
> Earth, he argued ... he amended the conclusion to allow for the
> improbable possibility that it could have formed
> under the intense heat and pressure that exist near
> the core mantle boundary or in a high impact
> collision of meteors in space. [1]

The core/mantle boundary is obviously rife with lots of chemical interactions, but what is it exactly about the conditions that prevents aluminum from oxidizing? Is it just physical pressure or the presence of other gases?

There's the obvious fact that the aluminum isn't exposed to the atmosphere, but my (limited) understanding is that oxygen is plentiful in combination with other elements like silicon.

> Reference:
>
> 1. Bindi, L. & Steinhardt, P.J. (2014) The quest for forbidden crystals. *Mineralogical Magazine, 78*(2), 467–482. [[DOI]](http://dx.doi.org/10.1180/minmag.2014.078.2.15) [[PDF]](http://minmag.geoscienceworld.org/content/78/2/467.full.pdf) (seems to be freely available)

**Tags:** geophysics, geochemistry, mineralogy

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think the key point is that there isn't that much oxygen in there. Especially when it's combined with silicon in a very stable way.  
> **username_0**: @Michael If you add a few more details, I think that's definitely a good answer.  
> **username_1**: I'm sorry, but I do not know much about mantle-core boundary conditions. I guess I could look it up with the references on the article but that's too much for me now.  
> **username_0**: @Michael Not a problem, the question was just for curiosity's sake.  I was just offering you the opportunity to answer with the info from that comment if you wanted to.  

---

## 0 answers

