Low-hydrous cancrinite: Atomic structure and indicative importance

Doklady Earth Sciences -     

Refinement of the crystal structure of fornacite using the rietveld method

The crystal structure of fornacite Pb₂(Cu,Fe)[CrO₄(As,P)O₄OH] from the Berezovskii deposit (Central Urals, Russia) was refined by X-ray powder diffraction data using the Rietveld method. Fornacite is monoclinic, space group P2₁/c, the unit cell dimensions are a = 8.09015(12), b = 5.90913(9), c = 17.4839(2) Å, β = 109.99(2), V = 785.5(3) ų, and Z = 4. The structure was refined in the isotropic approximation of the atomic displacement parameters up to R _p = 0.0516, R _wp = 0.0692, R _B = 0.0229, and R _F = 0.0200. The fornacite structure is similar to that of minerals of the brackebuschite-group and consists of heteropolyhedral chains, built by the columns of edge-sharing Cu²⁺O₆ octahedra connected with isolated Cr⁶⁺O₄ and As⁵⁺O₄ tetrahedra. The chains are linked by ninefold Pb²⁺ polyhedra.     

A new Cu-rich variety of lyonsite from fumarolic sublimates of the Tolbachik volcano (Kamchatka, Russia) and its crystal structure

A new Cu-rich variety of lyonsite has been found from fumarolic sublimates of the Tolbachik volcano (Kamchatka, Russia). The empirical formula is Cu_4.33Fe _2.37 ³⁺ Ti_0.26Al_0.26Zn_0.07(V_5.85As_0.07Mo_0.07P_0.01S_0.01)O₂₄. The crystal structure was studied on single crystal using synchrotron radiation, R = 0.0514. The mineral is orthorhombic, Pnma, a = 5.1736(7), b =10.8929(12), c = 18.220(2) Å, V = 1026.8(2) ų, and Z = 2. The structural formula is (Cu_0.6Ti_0.3Al_0.3Fe _0.2 ³⁺ □_0.6)_Σ2Cu₂(Fe _2.2 ³⁺ Cu_1.8)_Σ4(V_5.8As_0.1Mo_0.1)_Σ6O₂₄. It is proposed to recast the simplified formula of lyonsite as Cu_3+x (Fe _4?2x ³⁺ Cu_2x )(VO₄)₆, where 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.     

Crystal structure of nitrate cancrinite synthesized under low-temperature hydrothermal conditions

Doklady Earth Sciences -