Study of the Influence of Temperature on the Optical and Structural Properties of Dolomite.

The present work reports the results of structural and optical investigations in samples of natural dolomite, subjected to thermal treatment at different temperatures (500 ℃ to 700 ℃) and times (one up to three hours). The motivation is the evaluation of the changes that may occur in carbonaceous asteroids and meteorites, respectively, subjected to the action of the solar radiation and heated during the fall in the atmosphere. We carried out scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, optical reflectance and photoluminescence measurements.