High-temperature structure and dynamics of coesite (SiO2) from numerical simulations

The 1-bar structure and properties of the high-pressure SiO2 polymorph coesite have been simulated by lattice and molecular dynamics up to 1600 and 2100 K, respectively. In agreement with available experimental data, the monoclinic structure was found metastable (with respect to cristobalite or SiO2 liquid) up to the highest temperatures investigated. Thermal expansion of coesite is small because of restricted rotations of SiO4 tetrahedra. Above about 1000 K, the structure of coesite becomes dynamically disordered and similar to those reported for the β-phases of quartz and cristobalite. Disorder sets smoothly, however, in contrast to its abrupt onset in quartz and cristobalite, which have α–β transitions. The radial distribution functions for all bond distances indicate that order then prevails only for the nearest neighbors whereas the angle distributions widen markedly so that the monoclinic form of coesite with an Si–O–Si angle of 180° is only a time-averaged structure.