BeO in pegmatitic cordierite

Summary Several cordierites from pegmatites were found by emission spectroscopy to contain as much as 0·7 wt. % of BeO. Structural crystallographic considerations suggest that the beryl molecule, Be3Al2Si6O18, may have appreciable solubility in the structure of cordierite. Some hydrothermal experiments carried out on this assumption indicated about the same amount of BeO substitution in the magmatic temperature range as is shown by the pegmatite cordierites. The natural BeO-bearing cordierites have distinctive infra-red absorption properties, which are reproduced in the synthetic solid solutions.