(K,Na)2[AsB6O12]2[B3O3(OH)3], a New Microporous Material, and Its Comparison to Teruggite
by
Yulia A. Pankova 1,2 and Sergey V. Krivovichev 1,3,*
Yulia A. Pankova 1,2 and Sergey V. Krivovichev 1,3,*
1
Department of Crystallography, Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, University Emb. 7/9, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
2
Laboratory of Nature-Inspired Technologies and Environmental Safety of the Arctic, Kola Science Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences, Fersmana 14, 184209 Apatity, Russia
3
Nanomaterials Research Center, Federal Research Center, Kola Science Center, RAS, Fersmana Str. 14, 184209 Apatity, Russia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2019, 9(12), 781; https://doi.org/10.3390/min9120781
Received: 12 November 2019 / Revised: 7 December 2019 / Accepted: 10 December 2019 / Published: 13 December 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the XIX International Meeting on Crystal Chemistry, X-ray Diffraction and Spectroscopy of Minerals)
Single crystals of the novel boroarsenate (K,Na)2[As2B12O24][B3O3(OH)3] (I) were obtained using the borax flux method. The crystal structure of I was found to be triclinic, P-1, a = 8.414(5), b = 10.173(6), c = 15.90(1) Å, α = 79.56(1), β = 78.68(1), γ = 70.91(1), V = 1251(1) Å3, Z = 2. The crystal structure of I is based upon the novel [AsB6O12]− microporous boroarsenate framework formed by B and As coordination polyhedra. This framework can be subdivided into borate units that are interlinked by AsO4 tetrahedra. In the case of I, the borate substructure is a chain consisting of triborate rings, ☐2Δ, formed by two (BO3) triangles and one (BO4) tetrahedron connected through shared common oxygen atoms. The chains are extended along [0 1] and are interlinked by (AsO4) tetrahedra in the [011] direction. As a result, the framework has large channels parallel to [100], having an effective diameter of 4.2 × 5.6 Å2. The channels contain occluded electroneutral ring triborate complexes, [B3O3(OH)3]0, formed by three (BO2(OH−))− triangles sharing common O atoms, as well as K+ and Na+ cations. The triborate [B3O3(OH)3]0 units correspond to similar clusters found in the crystal structure of the α-form of metaboric acid, HBO2. According to information-based complexity calculations, the crystal structure of I should be described as complex, with IG = 5.781 bits/atom and IG,total = 625.950 bits/cell. Teruggite, Ca4Mg[B6As(OH)6O11]2(H2O)14, the only known boroarsenate of natural origin, has almost twice as much information per unit cell, with IG,total = 1201.992 bits/cell. The observed difference in structural complexity between I and teruggite is the consequence of their chemistry (hydration state) and different formation conditions.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
crystal structure; boroarsenate; microporous framework; structural complexity; Shannon information; terrugite
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Pankova, Y.A.; Krivovichev, S.V. (K,Na)2[AsB6O12]2[B3O3(OH)3], a New Microporous Material, and Its Comparison to Teruggite. Minerals 2019, 9, 781.
Show more citation formats
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
- Supplementary File 1:
ZIP-Document (ZIP, 503 KB)
