Constituent Whitlockite | SSHADE

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Constituent

Name: Whitlockite
IMA name: Whitlockite

Class: non-silicate mineral
Compound type: phosphate

Constituent abundance in material

Relevance: main - major
Arrangement: single phase
Mass fraction: 1.0

Chemical composition

Formula: $Ca_9(Mg,Fe^{2+})(PO_4)_6(PO_3OH)$
Chemical formula: Ca9(Mg,Fe)(PO4)6(PO3OH)
Elemental formula: Ca9 (Mg)0-1 (Fe2+)0-1 P7 O28 H
Isotope mixture type: terrestrial abundance

	Formula	Name	Family	Number min-max	Isotope mole fraction	State	Relevance
	$Ca$	Calcium	element	9		constituent element	main
	$Mg$	Magnesium	element	0 - 1		constituent element	main
	$Fe^{2+}$	Iron(II) cation	element	0 - 1		constituent element	main
	$(PO_4)^{3-}$	Phosphate anion	chemical function	6		anionic radical	main
	$P$	Phosphorus	element	1		constituent element	main
	$O$	Oxygen	element	4		constituent element	main
	$H$	Hydrogen	element	1		constituent element	main

Chemical functions and bonds

Chemical functions

	Function	Number
	$(PO_4)^{3-}$	6

Chemical bonds

	Bond	Number
	$\dddot - \dddot - \dddot - P \dddot - O^{-3/4}$	4

Oxides composition

Oxides

Formula	$CaO$	$MgO$	$FeO$	$P_{2}O_{5}$	$H_{2}O$
Mass fraction (%)	47.1	2.63	3.35	46.37	0.84

Oxides comments

with a typical formula

$Ca_9Mg_{0.7}Fe^{2+}_{0.5}(PO_4)_6(PO_3OH)$

Classifications

Strunz

Class: phosphates - arsenates - vanadates (08)
Division: phosphates, etc. without additional anions, without H2O (08.A)
Family: with medium-sized and large cations (08.AC)
Code: 08.AC.45

Dana

Major class: phosphates, arsenates, vanadates (VII)
Class: anhydrous phosphates (38)
Type: (A+ B++)3 (XO4)2 (38.03)
Group: Whitlockite group (38.03.04)
Code: 38.03.04.01

Phase type: crystalline

Crystallography

Crystal system: trigonal
Crystal class: ditrigonal-pyramidal
Crystal class symbol: 3m (C3v)
Crystal spacegroup: R3c

Texture: monocrystalline

Physical properties

Molar mass: 1071.45 $g/mol$
Density: 3.13 $g/cm^3$

Optical properties

Refringence type: uniaxial
Refringence sign: positive
Birefringence: 0.003
Refraction index $n_{\alpha}$: 1.626
Refraction index $n_{\beta}$: 1.629
Color: colorless, white, gray, gray white, yellowish
Diaphaneity: transparent to translucent
Luster: vitreous