A Crystallographically Supported Equation for Calculating Water in Emerald from the Sodium Content

ABSTRACT Emerald is the most well-recognized beryl (Be3Al2Si6O18) variety, and although it has been extensively studied, a satisfactory method for quantifying the water content within the structural channels of the crystal lattice has yet to be proposed. Water is frequently present in the structural channels of beryl and can occur in two orientations (Type I and Type II). While spectroscopic methods are ideal for determining the orientation of the water molecules, measuring the overall water content often requires expensive or destructive analytical techniques. Sodium is necessary to charge-balance divalent cation substitutions at the Al site of beryl; it is also correlated with H2O in the structural channels, which typically occurs as Type II water. In this study, we present equations that can be used to easily calculate the H2O content of an emerald beryl with significant Na+ content based on either Na+apfu or Na2O weight percent. Unlike previous work, these equations are derived from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data which can be used to accurately measure both the Na+ and H2O contents. We checked the validity of the data using electron probe microanalyses for elements heavier than O. We compared the results with hypothetical scenarios in which different cation substitutions are prevalent, as weight percentages are variable based on the elemental contents. Our results indicate that Na+ or Na2O weight percent can be used to calculate H2O content in emerald beryl with reasonable accuracy, which will allow future researchers to use a simple calculation instead of expensive or destructive techniques when determining H2O content in emeralds.

Carbonate and cation substitutions in hydroxylapatite in breast cancer micro-calcifications

Calcification within breast cancer is a diagnostically significant radiological feature that generally consists of hydroxylapatite. Samples from 30 cases of breast carcinoma with calcification were investigated using optical microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, transmission-electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence. Under optical microscopy, the calcifications were found to consist of either irregular aggregates with widths > 200 μm or spherical aggregates similar to psammoma bodies with an average diameter of 30 μm. Transmission-electron microscopy showed that short columnar or dumbbell-shaped crystals with widths of 10–15 nm and lengths of 20–50 nm were the most common morphology; spherical aggregates (~1 μm in diameter) with amorphous coatings of fibrous nanocrystals were also observed. Results indicated that hydroxylapatite was the dominant mineral phase in the calcifications, and both CO32– and cation substitutions (Na, Mg, Zn, Fe, Sr, Cu and Mn) were present in the hydroxylapatite structure. Fourier-transform infrared spectra show peaks at 872 and 880 cm–1 indicating that CO32– substituted both the OH– (A type) and PO43– (B type) sites of hydroxylapatite, making it an A and B mixed type. The ratio of B- to A-type substitution was estimated in the range of 1.1–18.7 from the ratio of peak intensities (I872/I880), accompanied with CO32– contents from 1.1% to 14.5%. Trace arsenic, detected in situ by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence was found to be distributed uniformly in the calcifications in the form of AsO43– substituting for PO43–. It is therefore proposed that identifying these trace elements in breast cancer calcifications may be promising for future clinical diagnostics.

On the structural formula of smectites: a review and new data on the influence of exchangeable cations

The understanding of the structural formula of smectite minerals is basic to predicting their physicochemical properties, which depend on the location of the cation substitutions within their 2:1 layer. This implies knowing the correct distribution and structural positions of the cations, which allows assigning the source of the layer charge of the tetrahedral or octahedral sheet, determining the total number of octahedral cations and, consequently, knowing the type of smectite. However, sometimes the structural formula obtained is not accurate. A key reason for the complexity of obtaining the correct structural formula is the presence of different exchangeable cations, especially Mg. Most smectites, to some extent, contain Mg2+ that can be on both octahedral and interlayer positions. This indeterminacy can lead to errors when constructing the structural formula. To estimate the correct position of the Mg2+ ions, that is their distribution over the octahedral and interlayer positions, it is necessary to substitute the interlayer Mg2+ and work with samples saturated with a known cation (homoionic samples). Seven smectites of the dioctahedral and trioctahedral types were homoionized with Ca2+, substituting the natural exchangeable cations. Several differences were found between the formulae obtained for the natural and Ca2+ homoionic samples. Both layer and interlayer charges increased, and the calculated numbers of octahedral cations in the homoionic samples were closer to four and six in the dioctahedral and trioctahedral smectites, respectively, with respect to the values calculated in the non-homoionic samples. This change was not limited to the octahedral sheet and interlayer, because the tetrahedral content also changed. For both dioctahedral and trioctahedral samples, the structural formulae improved considerably after homoionization of the samples, although higher accuracy was obtained the more magnesic and trioctahedral the smectites were. Additionally, the changes in the structural formulae sometimes resulted in changing the classification of the smectite.

Majzlanite, K2Na(ZnNa)Ca(SO4)4, a new anhydrous sulfate mineral with complex cation substitutions from Tolbachik volcano

A new mineral majzlanite, ideally K2Na(ZnNa)Ca(SO4)4, was found in high-temperature exhalative mineral assemblages in the Yadovitaya fumarole, Second scoria cone of the Great Tolbachik Fissure Eruption (1975–1976), Tolbachik volcano, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Majzlanite is associated closely with langbeinite and K-bearing thénardite. Majzlanite is grey with a bluish tint, has a white streak and vitreous lustre. The mineral is soluble in warm water. Majzlanite is monoclinic, C2/c, a = 16.007(2), b = 9.5239(11), c = 9.1182(10) Å, β = 94.828(7)°, V = 1385.2(3) Å3 and Z = 16. The eight strongest lines of the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are [d, Å (I, %)(hkl)]: 3.3721(40)($\bar{3}$12), 3.1473(56)($\bar{4}$02), 3.1062(65)($\bar{2}$22), 2.9495(50)($\bar{1}$31), 2.8736(100)($\bar{1}$13), 2.8350(70)(421), 2.8031(45)(511) and 2.6162(41)($\bar{5}$12). The following structural formula was obtained: K2Na(Zn0.88Na0.60Cu0.36Mg0.16)(Ca0.76Na0.24)(S0.98Al0.015Si0.005O4)4. The chemical composition determined by electron-microprobe analysis is (wt.%): Na2O 9.73, K2O 15.27, ZnO 11.20, CaO 7.03, CuO 4.26, MgO 1.07, Al2O3 0.47, SO3 51.34, SiO2 0.12, total 100.49. The empirical formula calculated on the basis of 16 O apfu is K1.99Na1.93Zn0.84Ca0.77Cu0.33Mg0.16(S3.94Al0.06Si0.01)O16 and the simplified formula is K2Na(Zn,Na,Cu,Mg)Σ2(Ca,Na)(SO4)4. No natural or synthetic compounds directly chemically and/or structurally related to majzlanite are known to date. The topology of the heteropolyhedral framework in majzlanite is complex. An interesting feature of the structure of majzlanite is an edge-sharing of ZnO6 octahedra with SO4 tetrahedra.

Polyhedral characteristics of the cosalite-type crystal structures

The crystal structure of cosalite from the Trepča orefield was refined in the orthorhombic space group Pnma [a = 23.7878 (9), b = 4.0566 (3), c = 19.1026 (8) Å, V = 1843.35 (17) Å3, Z = 2] from single-crystal data (MoKα X-ray diffraction, CCD area detector) to the conventional R1 factor 0.031 for 1516 unique reflections with I > 2σ(I). The chemical formula (Cu0.15Ag0.24)+(Fe0.19Pb7.20)2+(Bi7.06Sb1.06)3+S20, calculated on the basis of 20 S atoms per formula unit, was determined by WDX. The unit cell contains 18 + 2 symmetrically nonequivalent atomic sites: 10 occupied by S; two by pure Pb (Pb3 and Pb4); one by pure Bi (Bi1); two by a combination of Bi and small amounts of Sb (Bi2/Sb2, Bi4/Sb3); two by Pb and Bi, and in one of these also by a small amount of Ag [Me1 = Pb2 >> Bi5 > Ag1, Me3 = Pb1 >> Bi3]; and finally one site, Me2 (Bi6 >> □), is partly occupied by Bi and partly split into an additional two adjacent trigonal planar “interstitial positions”, Cu1 and Cu2, where small amounts of Cu, Ag, and Fe can be situated. All atoms are at 4c special positions at y = 0.25 or 0.75. The structure consists of slightly to moderately distorted MeS6 octahedra sharing edges, bicapped trigonal PbS8 coordination prisms, and fairly distorted Cu1S6 and Cu2S4 polyhedra. The effects of the cation substitutions, bond valence sums, and the polyhedral characteristics are compared with other published cosalite-type structures. Among known cosalite-type structures, the largest volume contraction is shown by sample 4 (Altenberg) and involves the replacement of large cations (Bi3+ and Pb2+) by the smaller Sb3+, as well as Cu+ and Ag+. These replacements are reflected in the variations of individual Me–S bond distances, which are accompanied by variations in average Me–S distances. The degree of polyhedral distortion, Δ, progressively increases for the four Bi-hosting sites of nine cosalite-type structures: Me2 < Bi2 < Bi1 < Bi4. The Bi4 and Me3 are the most and the Me1 and Me2 are the least distorted octahedral sites of the nine cosalite-type structures.