1. Toward the crystal structure of nagyagite, (Pb(Pb,Sb)S(sub 2))((Au,Te))
- Author
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Effenberger, Herta, Paar, Werner H., Topa, Dan, Culetto, Franz J., and Giester, Gerald
- Subjects
Crystals -- Structure ,Minerals -- Analysis ,Gold ores -- Natural history ,Earth sciences - Abstract
Synthetic nagyagite was grown from a melt as part of a search for materials with high-temperature superconductivity. Electron microprobe analyses of synthetic nagyagite and of nagyagite from the type locality Nagyag, Transylvania (now Sacarimb, Romania) agree with data from literature. The crystal chemical formula [Pb(Pb,Sb)[S.sup.2]][(Au,Te)] was derived from crystal structure investigations. Nagyagite is monoclinic pseudotetragonal. The average crystal structure was determined from both synthetic and natural samples and was refined from the synthetic material to R = 0.045 for 657 single-crystal X-ray data: space group P[2.sub.1]/m, a = 4.220(1) [Angstrom], b = 4.176(1) [Angstrom], c = 15.119(3) [Angstrom], [Beta] = 95.42(3) [degrees], and Z = 2. Nagyagite features a pronounced layer structure: slices of a two slabs thick SnS-archetype with formula Pb(Pb,Sb)[S.sub.2] parallel to (001) have a thickness of 9.15 [Angstrom]. Te and Au form a planar pseudo-square net that is sandwiched between the SnS-archetype layers; it is assumed that planar [Au.sup.[4Te]][Te.sub.4] configurations are edge connected to chains and that Te atoms are in a zigzag arrangement. Ordering within the SnS-archetype and gold-tellurium layers, intense twinning and/or stacking variants are responsible for the often observed superstructure reflections. For buckhornite, [[([Pb.sub.2]Bi).sub.[Sigma]3][S.sub.3]][[(AuT[e.sub.2]).sub.[Sigma]3]], a structure model is proposed considering a homologous series with nagyagite, [[([Pb.sub.3](Pb,Sb).sub.3])[Sigma]6][S.sub.6]][[(Au,Te).sub.3]].
- Published
- 1999