The
[AlO4/M+]0
(where M = H, Li, Na and K) defects in α-quartz have
been investigated by ab initio calculations at the
density functional theory (DFT) level, using the
CRYSTAL06 code, 72-atom supercells, and all-electron
basis sets. Our DFT calculations yielded substantially improved results than
previous cluster calculations with minimal basis sets. For example, the
[AlO4/M+(a<)]0
defects with M = H, Li and Na have been shown to be
more stable than their
[AlO4/M+(a>)]0
structural analogues (where a> and a< denote the location of the
charge-compensating ion on the long-bond and short-bond side respectively),
correctly predicting the common occurrence of paramagnetic
[AlO4/M+(a>)]+
centres. In addition, the [AlO4/K+]0
defects have been investigated for the first time and are shown to be stable in
quartz. Moreover, our calculations confirm previous
suggestions that incorporation of the
[AlO4/M+]0
defects results in significant structural relaxations that extend at least to the
nearest Si atoms and give Li—O and Na—O bond distances in better agreement with
the experimentally obtained values. The present theoretical results on the
[AlO4/M+]0
defects provide a more complete picture for the coupled
Al3+—M+
substitutions and hence new insights into crystal-chemical controls on the uptake
of Al in quartz.