Phase relationships of the system Fe-Ni-S and structure of the high-pressure phase of (Fe_1−xNi_x)₃S₂

The phase relationships of the Fe-Ni-S system at 15 GPa were studied by high pressure quench experiments. The stability fields of (Fe,Ni)₃S and (Fe,Ni)₃S₂ and the melting relationships of the Fe-Ni-S system were determined as a function of Ni content. The (Fe,Ni)₃S solid solution is stable in the composition of Ni/(Fe + Ni) > 0.7 and melts incongruently into an Fe-Ni alloy + liquid. The (Fe,Ni)₃S₂ makes a complete solid solution and melts incongruently into (Fe,Ni)S + liquid, whose structure was determined to show Cmcm-orthorhombic symmetry by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments. The eutectic contains about 30 at.% of S, and its temperature decreases with increasing Ni content with a rate of ∼5 K/at.% from 1175 K. The density of the Fe-FeS eutectic composition (Fe₇₀S₃₀) liquid is evaluated to be 6.93 ± 0.08 g/cm³ at 15 GPa and 1200 K based on the Clausius-Clapeyron relations and densities of subsolidus phases. The Fe-Ni-S liquids are a primary sulfur-bearing phase in the deep mantle with a reducing condition (250–660 km depth), and they would play a significant role in the carbon cycle as a carbon host as well as in the generation of diamond.