Crystal structure of magnesio-ferri-hornblendite □Ca2(Mg4Fe3+)[(Si7Al)O22](OH)2 as a potentially new mineral of the amphibole supergroup

Abstract

A sample of magnesio-ferri-hornblendite, a potential new mineral of the amphibole supergroup, was studied by X-ray diffraction and IR spectroscopy. The crystal chemical formula is (Z = 2): ^AK_0.04^M(4) (Ca_1.92Na_0.08) ^C[^M(1)(Mg_1.78Fe_0.22⁴⁺) ^M(2)(Mg_1.62Fe_0.26³⁺Al_0.12) ^M(3)(Mg_0.64Fe_0.32²⁺Mn_0.04)] [^T(Si_7.44Al_0.56)O₂₂] ^W(OH)₂. The monoclinic unit cell parameters are a = 9.855(1) Å, b = 18.084(1) Å, c = 5.289(1) Å, β = 104.853(2)°; V = 911.1(2) ų; space group C2/m; Z = 2. The crystal structure was refined to R = 2.82% in the anisotropic approximation for atomic displacement parameters using 1166 reflections with I > 2σ(I). The magnesio-ferri-hornblendite structure is generally similar to the structures of other monoclinic calcium amphiboles, and its key distinctive features are the predominance of Мg among C²⁺ cations and Fe³⁺ among C³⁺ cations.