crystals Article Crystal Chemistry of Stanfieldite, Ca7M2Mg9(PO4)12 (M = Ca, Mg, Fe2+), a Structural Base of Ca3Mg3(PO4)4 Phosphors Sergey N. Britvin 1,2,* , Maria G. Krzhizhanovskaya 1, Vladimir N. Bocharov 3 and Edita V. Obolonskaya 4 1 Department of Crystallography, Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab. 7/9, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia;
[email protected] 2 Nanomaterials Research Center, Kola Science Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersman Str. 14, 184209 Apatity, Russia 3 Centre for Geo-Environmental Research and Modelling, Saint-Petersburg State University, Ulyanovskaya ul. 1, 198504 St. Petersburg, Russia;
[email protected] 4 The Mining Museum, Saint Petersburg Mining University, 2, 21st Line, 199106 St. Petersburg, Russia;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Received: 1 May 2020; Accepted: 25 May 2020; Published: 1 June 2020 Abstract: Stanfieldite, natural Ca-Mg-phosphate, is a typical constituent of phosphate-phosphide assemblages in pallasite and mesosiderite meteorites. The synthetic analogue of stanfieldite is used as a crystal matrix of luminophores and frequently encountered in phosphate bioceramics. However, the crystal structure of natural stanfieldite has never been reported in detail, and the data available so far relate to its synthetic counterpart. We herein provide the results of a study of stanfieldite from the Brahin meteorite (main group pallasite). The empirical formula of the mineral is Ca8.04Mg9.25Fe0.72Mn0.07P11.97O48. Its crystal structure has been solved and refined to R1 = 0.034. Stanfieldite from Brahin is monoclinic, C2/c, a 22.7973(4), b 9.9833(2), c 17.0522(3) Å, β 99.954(2)◦, 3 V 3822.5(1)Å .