Growth Oscillatory Zoning in Erythrite, Ideally Co3(Aso4)28H2O
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
minerals Article Growth Oscillatory Zoning in Erythrite, Ideally Co3(AsO4)2·8H2O: Structural Variations in Vivianite-Group Minerals Sytle M. Antao * ID and Inayat Dhaliwal Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-403-220-3083 Received: 11 July 2017; Accepted: 30 July 2017; Published: 2 August 2017 Abstract: The crystal structure of an oscillatory zoned erythrite sample from Aghbar mine, Bou Azzer, Morocco, was refined using synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD) data, Rietveld refinement, space group C2/m, and Z = 2. The crystal contains two sets of oscillatory zones that appear to have developed during epitaxial growth. The unit-cell parameters obtained are a = 10.24799(3) Å, b = 13.42490(7) Å, c = 4.755885(8) Å, b = 105.1116(3)◦, and V = 631.680(4) Å3. The empirical formula for erythrite, obtained with electron-probe micro-analysis (EPMA), is [Co2.78Zn0.11Ni0.07Fe0.04]∑3.00(AsO4)2·8H2O. Erythrite belongs to the vivianite-type structure that contains M1O2(H2O)4 octahedra and M22O6(H2O)4 octahedral dimers that are linked by TO4 (T5+ = As or P) tetrahedra to form complex layers parallel to the (010) plane. These layers are connected by hydrogen bonds. The average <M1–O>[6] = 2.122(1) Å and average <M2–O>[6] = 2.088(1) Å. With space group C2/m, there are two solid solutions: M3(AsO4)2·8H2O and M3(PO4)2·8H2O where M2+ = Mg, Fe, Co, Ni, or Zn. In these As- and P-series, using data from this study and from the literature, we find that their structural parameters evolve linearly with V and in a nearly parallel manner despite of the large difference in size between P5+ (0.170 Å) and As5+ (0.355 Å) cations. Average <T–O>[4], <M1–O>[6], and <M2–O>[6] distances increase linearly with V. The average <As–O> distance is affected by M atoms, whereas the average <P–O> distance is unaffected because it contains shorter and stronger P–O bonds. Although As- and P-series occur naturally, there is no structural reason why similar V-series vivianite-group minerals do not occur naturally or cannot be synthesized. Keywords: erythrite; vivianite-group minerals; structure; chemistry; oscillatory zones; synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD); Rietveld refinement 1. Introduction Erythrite, ideally Co3(AsO4)2·8H2O, is a member of the vivianite-group minerals with general 2+ 5+ formula M3(TO4)2·8H2O where M = Mg, Fe, Co, Ni, or Zn and T = P or As. Because of the difference in size of P (0.170 Å) and As (0.355 Å) atoms, two solid solutions occur with different chemical evolution and structural characteristics. Solid solutions do not occur between the two separate P- and As- series. Both series have monoclinic space group C2/m with Z = 2. In addition to the above two solid solutions, there is no structural reason for the existence of a third series with V5+ (0.335 Å) cation, as in the lead-apatite series [1–3]. V-series vivianite-group minerals have not been found in nature because another phase may be more stable. However, it would be of interest to synthesize V-series vivianite materials. Because the P–O bond is short and strong, the interstitial M atoms are unlikely to have any significantly effect on the average <P–O> distance, whereas the average <As–O> distance is longer, so the As–O bond is weaker and is affected by the M atoms. This observation is confirmed using data from this study and the literature (Table1). Minerals 2017, 7, 136; doi:10.3390/min7080136 www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals Minerals 2017, 7, 136 2 of 13 Table 1. Structural data for vivianite-group minerals with space group C2/m (listed with increasing V in each series). Mineral Composition a/Å b/Å c/Å b/◦ V/Å3 <M1–O> <M2–O> <T–O> Reference As-series M3(AsO4)2·8H2O: M = annabergite [Ni2.48Mg0.50Fe0.02] 10.179 13.309 4.725 105.00 618.2 2.086 2.073 1.691 [4] cabrerite [Ni2.2Mg0.7Fe0.1]3 10.211 13.335 4.728 104.97 621.9 2.086 2.074 1.690 [5] köttigite [Zn2.44Co0.42Ni0.14] 10.241 13.405 4.757 105.21 630.2 2.115 2.100 1.682 [6] Mg-erythrite [Co2.16Mg0.60Ni0.24] 10.187 13.470 4.755 104.97 630.3 2.116 2.095 1.693 [7] hörnesite Mg3 10.26 13.44 4.74 104.90 631.6 - - - [8] erythrite [Co2.78Zn0.11Ni0.07Fe0.04] 10.248 13.425 4.756 105.11 631.7 2.122 2.088 1.710 This study syn. hörnesite-annabergite ss [Mg2.5Ni0.5] 10.257 13.421 4.753 105.08 631.7 2.115 2.114 1.714 [9] hörnesite Mg3 10.279 13.455 4.749 105.12 634.1 - - - [10] erythrite [Co2.01Fe0.74Ni0.25] 10.251 13.447 4.764 104.98 634.4 2.116 2.106 1.694 [4] köttigite-parasymplesite ss [Fe1.62Zn1.38] 10.342 13.484 4.776 105.31 642.3 2.134 2.101 1.696 [11] parasymplesite Fe3 10.35 13.52 4.79 104.90 647.7 - - - [12] P-series M3(PO4)2·8H2O: M = syn. pakhomovskyite Co3 10.021 13.331 4.673 104.90 603.3 2.112 2.102 1.543 [13] pakhomovskyite Co2.38Mg0.38Mn0.17Ni0.04Fe0.03 10.034 13.341 4.670 105.02 603.8 - - - [14] syn. Mg-vivianite Mg3 10.034 13.407 4.657 105.09 604.9 2.094 2.085 1.545 [15] 2+ 3+ bari´cite [Mg1.70Fe 1.19Fe 0.11] 10.085 13.39 4.671 104.96 609.4 2.132 2.100 1.549 [16] vivianite Fe3 10.086 13.441 4.703 104.27 617.9 2.152 2.132 1.542 [17] vivianite [Fe2.75Zn0.25] 10.083 13.468 4.718 104.47 620.3 2.151 2.134 1.543 [18] vivianite Fe3 10.116 13.473 4.706 104.33 621.5 2.152 2.124 1.544 [18] vivianite [Fe2.88Mg0.12] 10.1 13.494 4.709 104.24 622.1 2.166 2.134 1.546 [18] syn. = synthetic, ss = solid solution. Minerals 2017, 7, 136 3 of 13 The structure of vivianite, ideally Fe3(PO4)2·8H2O, was determined by Mori and Ito [19] and subsequently refined by others [17,20,21]. Other vivianite-type materials were structurally investigated: parasymplesite, Fe3(AsO4)2·8H2O[19]; köttigite, ideally Zn3(AsO4)2·8H2O[6]; cabrerite, (Ni,Mg)3(AsO4)2·8H2O, a Mg-rich variety of annabergite [5]; synthetic Mg3(PO4)2·8H2O[15]; synthetic Co3(PO4)2·8H2O[13]. The structural parameters of these minerals are summarized in Table1. Arsenate minerals from the vivianite group usually occur as secondary minerals in the oxidation zones of some arsenic-rich hydrothermal base-metal mineral deposits. It is important to study the chemistry of the vivianite-group minerals because of their significance in mineralogy and proton super-ionic conduction, especially the hydrogen-bonding geometry [11]. The study examines the crystal chemistry of an oscillatory zoned erythrite crystal using Rietveld structure refinement, synchrotron high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction (HRPXRD) data, and electron-probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) data. Solid solutions for the As- and P-series are also examined using data from this study and the literature. Similar experimental techniques were used to examine other minerals [22–26]. 2. Experimental Methods 2.1. Sample Description and Electron-Probe Micro-Analyzer (EPMA) Experiments were performed on a sample of erythrite from Aghbar mine, Bou Azzer, Morocco. The sample contains euhedral crystals that are well-developed with excellent faces. The prismatic crystals are elongated along the [001] direction and flattened on the (010) plane. Quantitative chemical compositions, back-scattered electron (BSE) image, and elemental maps were collected with a JEOL JXA-8200 WD-ED electron-probe micro-analyzer (EPMA). The JEOL operating program on a Solaris platform was used for ZAF correction and data reduction. The wavelength- dispersive (WD) operating conditions were 15 kV accelerating voltage, 20 nA beam current, and 5 µm beam diameter. The standards used were cobalt (CoKα), hornblende (FeKα), nickel oxide (NiKα), zinc oxide (ZnKα), almandine-pyrope (MgKα), gallium arsenide (AsKα), apatite (PKα), and barite (SKα). The results of the average EPMA analyses (from 11 points) are listed in Table2 and results in the empirical formula [Co2.78Zn0.11Ni0.07Fe0.04]∑3.00(AsO4)2·8H2O. The BSE image and elemental maps show two sets of crystal growth zones that occur as oscillatory features (Figure1). This chemical heterogeneity is also evident from the variations of the atoms from one spot to another (Figure2). Table 2. Chemical analyses for erythrite. As2O5 wt % 38.39 SO3 0.06 P2O5 0.00 CoO 34.89 ZnO 1.50 NiO 0.84 FeO 0.49 MgO 0.00 H2O 22.10 ∑ 98.25 As apfu 1.996 S 0.004 P 0.000 ∑(As,S,P) 2.000 Co 2.782 Zn 0.110 Ni 0.067 Fe 0.040 Mg 0.000 ∑(Co,Zn,Ni,Fe,Mg) 3.000 H2O 8.000 The atom per formula unit (apfu) were calculated on basis of 5 metal atoms. H2O was fixed to 8. The chemical formula is [Co2.78Zn0.11Ni0.07Fe0.04]∑3.00(AsO4)2·8H2O. Minerals 2017, 7, 136 4 of 13 Figure 1.