Boron substitution in diopside evaluated through 11 B nuclear reaction analysis

Nuclear reaction analyses on boron in flux-grown Me3+- and Na+-doped diopside crystals utilising the 11B(p,2α)4He reaction in conjunction with EMP analyses for major elements and optical absorption spectroscopy for determination of Me-valence state distributions show that appreciable amounts of B may enter the diopside lattice in crystals produced in Na2B4O7 fluxes. The results indicate that the substitution [6]Me3+[4]B3+[6]Mg2+−1[4]Si4+−1 operates in the present diopside samples in addition to the coupled substitution [6]Me3+[8]Na+[6]Mg2+−1[8]Ca2+−1. The specific NRA technique applied allows for quantitative, high resolution (ca. 5 μm) B analyses at ppm level as well as high-resolution and high-contrast imaging of B-concentration patterns in minerals. The estimated detection limit and relative error of the B analyses are 10 ppm and 5–10%, respectively.