ABSTRACT
The crystal structure of ilmajokite, a rare Na-K-Ba-Ce-titanosilicate from the Khibiny mountains, Kola peninsula, Russia, has been solved using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. The crystal structure is based on a 3D titanosilicate framework consisting of trigonal prismatic titanosilicate (TPTS) clusters centered by Ce3+ in [9]-coordination. Four adjacent TPTS clusters are linked into four-membered rings within the (010) plane and connected via ribbons parallel to 101. The ribbons are organized into layers parallel to (010) and modulated along the a axis with a modulation wavelength of csinß = 32.91â Å and an amplitude of â¼b/2 = 13.89â Å. The layers are linked by additional silicate tetrahedra. Na+, K+, Ba2+ and H2O groups occur in the framework cavities and have different occupancies and coordination environments. The crystal structure of ilmajokite can be separated into eight hierarchical levels: atoms, coordination polyhedra, TPTS clusters, rings, ribbons, layers, the framework and the whole structure. The information-based analysis allows estimation of the complexity of the structure as 8.468 bits per atom and 11990.129 bits per cell. According to this analysis, ilmajokite is the third-most complex mineral known to date after ewingite and morrisonite, and is the most complex mineral framework structure, comparable in complexity to paulingite-(Ca) (11 590.532 bits per cell).
ABSTRACT
The high-temperature (HT) behaviour of lobanovite, K2Na(Fe2+4Mg2Na)Ti2(Si4O12)2O2(OH)4, was studied using in situ powder X-ray diffraction in the temperature range 25-1000°C and ex situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction of 17 crystals quenched from different temperatures. HT iron oxidation associated with dehydroxylation starts at 450°C, similar to other ferrous-hydroxy-rich heterophyllosilicates such as astrophyllite and bafertisite. A prominent feature of lobanovite HT crystal chemistry is the redistribution of Fe and Mg+Mn cations over the M(2), M(3), M(4) sites of the octahedral (O) layer that accompanies iron oxidation and dehydroxylation. This HT redistribution of cations has not been observed in titanosilicates until now, and seems to be triggered by the need to maintain bond strengths at the apical oxygen atom of the TiO5 pyramid in the heteropolyhedral (H) layer during oxidation-dehydroxylation. Comparison of the HT behaviour of lobanovite with five-coordinated Ti and astrophyllite with six-coordinated Ti shows that the geometry of the Ti polyhedron plays a key role in the HT behaviour of heterophyllosilicates. The thermal expansion, geometrical changes and redistribution of site occupancies which occur in lobanovite under increasing temperature are reported. A brief discussion is given of minerals in which the cation ordering (usually for Fe and Mg) occurs together with iron oxidation-dehydroxylation at elevated temperatures: micas, amphiboles and tourmalines. Now this list is expanded by the inclusion of titanosilicate minerals.
