Site partitioning of Cr3+ in the trichroic alexandrite BeAl2O4:Cr3+ crystal: contribution from x-ray absorption spectroscopy

X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements at the Cr K-edge of a trichroic crystal of alexandrite BeAl2O4:Cr3+ for different orientations of the crystal with respect to the polarization and direction of the x-ray incident beam have been performed. Analysis of the experimental spectra with the help of first-principles calculations of x-ray absorption spectra allowed us to estimate the proportion of chromium Cr3+ cations among the two different octahedral sites of the alexandrite structure (70% in the C-s site-30% in the C-i site). The methodology presented in this work opens up new possibilities in the field of mineralogy for the study of complex minerals containing several sites potentially occupied by several transition elements or for solid solutions.