Behavior of opaque minerals in the Jilin H5 chondrite experimentally shocked to 12–133 GPa pressures
Xiande Xie, Jiarui Lin & Haiyang Xian
Acta Geochimica, Published: 06 January 2026
“Recovered samples of Jilin H5 chondrite experimentally shocked to 12–133 GPa were studied to explore the behavior of opaque minerals under shock loading using SEM–EDS, Raman spectroscopy, and TIMA. The following results were obtained. Firstly, at pressures lower than 53 GPa, the opaque minerals still keep the unmelted state, while at 78 GPa and higher, FeNi metal and troilite form eutectic intergrowths occurring as disorderly fine veinlets filling the shock-induced fractures in silicate minerals. Secondly, single kamacite grains still maintain their contour at 12 GPa, but a part of brittle troilite grains was fragmented and squeezed into the shock-induced fractures within kamacite grains. At 53 and 133 GPa, many more troilite fragments are poured in the kamacite interior to form disordered hybrid aggregates or to form squiggly strips, respectively. Similar phenomena are observed within single troilite grains, but the mineral squeezed into troilite grains is kamacite. Thirdly, chromite is a hard and refractory oxide mineral. When the shock pressure rises step by step from 12 to 133 GPa, the shock effect of chromite is only fragmentation. Its grain size decreases from tens of µm at 53 GPa to a few µm at 133 GPa. And, fourthly, native copper exhibits distinct redistribution behavior at high temperature. In Jilin samples shock-loaded to 12 GPa, copper initially located at troilite–kamacite interfaces partially transferred into small troilite grains containing fine FeNi particles. At 53 and 133 GPa, native copper preferentially transferred into larger troilite grains containing more particles of eutectic FeNi metal.”
