Producing highly complicated materials. Nature does it better

Abstract

Through the years, mineralogical studies have produced a tremendous amount of data on the atomic arrangement and mineral properties. Quite often, structural analysis has led to elucidate the role played by minor components, giving interesting insights into the physicochemical conditions of minerals and allowing the description of unpredictable structures that represented a body of knowledge critical for assessing their technological potentialities. Using such a rich database, containing many basic acquisitions, further steps became appropriate and possible, into the directions of more advanced knowledge frontiers. Some of these frontiers assume the name of modularity, complexity, aperiodicity, and matter organization at not conventional levels, and will be discussed in this review.

Bianchiniite, Ba2(Ti4+V3+)(As2O5)2OF, a new diarsenite mineral from the Monte Arsiccio mine, Apuan Alps, Tuscany, Italy

“…Among them, the recently described mineral bennesherite, Ba 2 Fe 2+ Si 2 O 7 , is the first Ba member of this group (Krzątala et al, 2021). Its unit-cell parameters are a = 8.23, c = 5.29 Å, space group P 4 2 1 m. In agreement with the general formula of melilite group minerals, X 2 T(1)[T(2) 2 O 7 ] (e.g., Bindi et al, 2020), the T(1) tetrahedron is occupied by Fe 2+ , whereas Si 4+ is hosted at T (2) (Fig. 6).…”

“…Bianchiniite has some resemblance with fresnoite (Masse et al, 1967;Moore and Louisnathan, 1969;Markgraf et al, 1985;Krzątala et al, 2021) and with melilite group minerals (Bindi et al, 2020). Fresnoite, ideally Ba 2 Ti(Si 2 O 7 )O, has unit-cell parameters a = 8.52, c = 5.21 Å, with space group P4bm.…”

“…As shown in Figure 3, some very weak reflections indicate the presence of a superstructure. The occurrence of incommensurate superstructure reflections is a common feature of melilite group minerals (e.g., Bindi et al, 2020). In some cases, a commensurate superstructure has been proposed.…”

Expanding the Averievite Family, (MX)Cu5O2(T5+O4)2 (T5+ = P, V; M = K, Rb, Cs, Cu; X = Cl, Br): Synthesis and Single-Crystal X-ray Diffraction Study

“…Mineralogical information provides an important resource for the design of novel materials with a unique structural architecture and physical properties [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Of particular interest are minerals containing transition metal cations such as Cu 2+ that form various cation arrays with interesting magnetic behavior.…”

Thunderbayite, TlAg3Au3Sb7S6, a new gold-bearing mineral from the Hemlo gold deposit, Marathon, Ontario, Canada

“…In the course of a research project dealing with the description and structural characterisation of natural Tl–Ag-sulfides/sulfosalts (i.e. Biagioni et al , 2016; Bindi and Biagioni, 2018; Bindi et al , 2012a, 2012b, 2013, 2015a, 2015b, 2020), we examined a sample from the Hemlo gold deposit, Marathon, Ontario, Canada (Harris, 1989), belonging to the mineralogical collections of the Museo di Storia Naturale of the University of Florence, Italy (catalogue number 46582/G). This is also the type material for the recently approved biagioniite, Tl 2 SbS 2 (IMA2019-120; Bindi and Moëlo, 2020).…”