Retention of Xenon in Quartz and Earth's Missing Xenon
Chrystèle Sanloup,1*
Burkhard C. Schmidt,2
Eva Maria Chamorro Perez,3
Albert Jambon,1
Eugene Gregoryanz,4
Mohamed Mezouar5
The reactivity of xenon with terrestrial oxides was investigated
by in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction. At high temperature
(
T > 500 kelvin), some silicon was reduced, and the pressure
stability of quartz was expanded, attesting to the substitution
of some xenon for silicon. When the quartz was quenched, xenon
diffused out and only a few weight percent remained trapped
in samples. These results show that xenon can be covalently
bonded to oxygen in quartz in the lower continental crust, providing
an answer to the missing xenon problem; synthesis paths of rare
gas compounds are also opened.
2 Bayerisches GeoInstitut, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
3 Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon, France.
4 School of Physics and Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK.
5 European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 38043 Grenoble, France.
Present address: Geowissenschaftliches Zentrum, Goettingen University, 37077 Goettingen, Germany.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sanloup{at}ccr.jussieu.fr
