Greigite: a true intermediate on the polysulfide pathway to pyrite

The formation of pyrite (FeS2) from iron monosulfide precursors in anoxic sediments has been suggested to proceed via mackinawite (FeS) and greigite (Fe3S4). Despite decades of research, the mechanisms of pyrite formation are not sufficiently understood because solid and dissolved intermediates are oxygen-sensitive and poorly crystalline and therefore notoriously difficult to characterize and quantify. In this study, hydrothermal synchrotron-based energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (ED-XRD) methods were used to investigate in situ and in real-time the transformation of mackinawite to greigite and pyrite via the polysulfide pathway. The rate of formation and disappearance of specific Bragg peaks during the reaction and the changes in morphology of the solid phases as observed with high resolution microscopy were used to derive kinetic parameters and to determine the mechanisms of the reaction from mackinawite to greigite and pyrite. The results clearly show that greigite is formed as an intermediate on the pathway from mackinawite to pyrite. The kinetics of the transformation of mackinawite to greigite and pyrite follow a zero-order rate law indicating a solid-state mechanism. The morphology of greigite and pyrite crystals formed under hydrothermal conditions supports this conclusion and furthermore implies growth of greigite and pyrite by oriented aggregation of nanoparticulate mackinawite and greigite, respectively. The activation enthalpies and entropies of the transformation of mackinawite to greigite, and of greigite to pyrite were determined from the temperature dependence of the rate constants according to the Eyring equation. Although the activation enthalpies are uncharacteristic of a solid-state mechanism, the activation entropies indicate a large increase of order in the transition state, commensurate with a solid-state mechanism.