Soret separation of highly siderophile elements in Fe-Ni-S melts: Implications for solid metal-liquid metal partitioning

Soret separation of melts consisting of Fe (+ 1-10 wt.% Ni) with added C, Si or S and trace highly siderophile elements (HSE; Ru, Rh, Pd, Re, Os, Ir, Pt and Au) was investigated in experiments done at 2 GPa, Thot ~ 2000 °C and Thot−Tcold ~ 250 °C. Experiments with added C and Si produced homogeneous samples, whereas those with S resulted in significant compositional gradients, with S enriched at the hot end of the sample, and Fe and HSE enriched at the cold end. The magnitude of the separation of the HSE is not the same for each, but varies in the order (smallest to largest) Pd~Au