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A new chemical etching technique for peridotites using molten anhydrous borax

Institute of Mineralogy, Petrology, and Economic Geology, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan

Correspondence: ^* E-mail: ouchitmh{at}ganko.tohoku.ac.jp

A new chemical etching technique has been devised for synthetic Fe-free peridotites composed of forsterite (Fo), enstatite (En), and diopside (Di) Among the etchants were acids, molten carbonates, and borates, but it was found that only molten anhydrous borax (Na₂B₄O₇) dissolved all phases equally. Molten anhydrous borax was found to be a successful etchant in equally enhancing all the grain (i.e., Fo-Fo, En-En, and Di-Di) and interphase (i.e., Fo-En, Fo-Di, and En-Di) boundaries. From the backscattered electron images of the etched surface, maps of grain- and interphase-boundaries can be obtained semi-automatically for microstructural analysis by using image processing software. An Fe-bearing wehrlite was also etched successfully by molten anhydrous borax, thus showing the usefulness of this technique for enhancing the grain- and interphase-boundaries in many natural peridotites.

Key Words: Etching • peridotite • anhydrous borax • grain boundary • interphase boundary