Defects and Calcium Diffusion in Wollastonite

Wollastonite (CaSiO<sub>3</sub>) is an important mineral that is widely used in ceramics and polymer industries. Defect energetics, diffusion of Ca ions and a solution of dopants are studied using atomistic-scale simulation based on the classical pair potentials. The energetically favour...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sumudu Nimasha, Sashikesh Ganeshalingam, Navaratnarajah Kuganathan, Konstantinos Davazoglou, Alexander Chroneos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Chemistry
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8549/2/4/59
Description
Summary:Wollastonite (CaSiO<sub>3</sub>) is an important mineral that is widely used in ceramics and polymer industries. Defect energetics, diffusion of Ca ions and a solution of dopants are studied using atomistic-scale simulation based on the classical pair potentials. The energetically favourable defect process is calculated to be the Ca-Si anti-site defect cluster in which both Ca and Si swap their atomic positions simultaneously. It is calculated that the Ca ion migrates in the <i>ab</i> plane with an activation energy of 1.59 eV, inferring its slow diffusion. Favourable isovalent dopants on the Ca and Si sites are Sr<sup>2+</sup> and Ge<sup>4+</sup>, respectively. Subvalent doping by Al on the Si site is a favourable process to incorporate additional Ca in the form of interstitials in CaSiO<sub>3</sub>. This engineering strategy would increase the capacity of this material.
ISSN:2624-8549