Crystal chemistry of birefringent hydrogrossular
Abstract
Crystal structure refinements of two fine-grained, massive, birefringent hydrogarnet samples from South Africa [1. green "jade" and 2. pink "jade"] were carried out with the Rietveld method, cubic space group and monochromatic synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD) data. Electron-microprobe analysis (EMPA) gave bulk compositions as follows: (1) (Ca2.997Mg0.003)Σ3{Al1.794Fe{0.196/3+}Cr{0.004/3+}Mn{0.003/3+}Ti{0.002/4+}}Σ2[(SiO4)2.851(O4H4)0.151]Σ3 and (2) (Ca2.993Mg0.007)Σ3{Al1.977Fe{0.020/3+}Mn{0.003/3+}Cr{0.001/3+}}Σ2[(SiO4)2.272(O4H4)0.730]Σ3. Their crystal structure was modeled well as indicated by the Rietveld refinement statistical indicators where the reduced χ2 and overall R ( F 2) values are 1.133 and 0.0467, respectively, for sample 1 and 1.308 and 0.0342 for sample 2. Two cubic phases are contained in each sample. For phase 1a in sample 1, the weight fraction (%), unit-cell parameter (Å), and O-H bond distance (Å) are as follows: 74.4(1), a = 11.88874(4), and O-H = 0.98(9); the corresponding data for phase 1b are 25.6(1), a = 11.9280(5), and O-H = 0.91(9). For phase 2a in sample 2, the corresponding data are 52.0(1), a = 12.0591(1), and O-H = 0.90(6); the corresponding data for phase 2b are 48.0(1), a = 11.9340(2), and O-H = 0.90(7). The anisotropic displacement ellipsoids for the O atoms show no unusual features and are not elongated along the "Si-O" bond direction, which is written as Z-O, because of the general formula, X3Y2Z3O12, for garnet. Phase 1a is near end-member grossular, ideally Ca3Al2Si3O12. The deficiencies of the site occupancy factors ( sofs) for the Si (=Z) site indicate that there are significant [O4H4]4- replacing [SiO4]4-. The Z-O distance is large in phase 1b, phases 2a, and 2b compared to a typical Z-O distance in anhydrous grossular or phase 1a. The H atoms occur in different environments around the vacant Z site in the two samples, and they may also bond to the O atoms surrounding the X and Y sites, if they contain vacancies as indicated by the refinement sofs. Two cubic phases are intergrown in each sample and cause strain that arise from structural mismatch and give rise to strain-induced birefringence in hydrogrossular.
- Publication:
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Physics and Chemistry of Minerals
- Pub Date:
- June 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1007/s00269-015-0736-y
- Bibcode:
- 2015PCM....42..455A
- Keywords:
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- Hydrogarnet;
- Hydrogrossular;
- Grossular;
- Katoite;
- Birefringence;
- Multi-phase intergrowths;
- Rietveld refinements;
- Synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD);
- Crystal structure