Constituent
Name
Mercallite
IMA name
Mercallite
Class
non-silicate mineral
Compound type
sulfate
Constituent abundance in material
Relevance
main - minor
Arrangement
in multi-phases
Mass fraction
0.08 $\pm$ 0.1
Chemical composition
Formula
$KHSO_4$
Chemical formula
KHSO4
Elemental formula
(K+) H S O2 (O-)2
Isotope mixture type
terrestrial abundance
  Formula Name Family Number min-max Isotope mole fraction State Relevance
$K^+$ Potassium(1+) cation element 1 constituent cation main
$H$ Hydrogen element 1 constituent element main
$(SO_4)^{2-}$ Sulfate anion chemical function 1 anionic radical main
Chemical functions
  Function Number
$(SO_4)^{2-}$ 1
Chemical bonds
  Bond Number
$\dddot - \dddot - \dddot - S \dddot - O^{-1/2}$ 4
Oxides
Formula $K_{2}O$ $H_{2}O$ $SO_{3}$
Mass fraction (%) 34.59 6.62 58.8

Strunz

Class
sulfates - chromates - molybdates - tungstates (07)
Division
sulfates (selenates, etc.) without additional anions, without H2O (07.A)
Family
with only large cations (07.AD)
Code
07.AD.10

Dana

Major class
sulfates, chromates, selenates (VI)
Class
anhydrous acid and sulfates (28)
Type
(Anhydrous, Acid) (28.01)
Group
-Mercallite- group (28.01.01)
Code
28.01.01.01
Phase type
crystalline
Crystal system
orthorhombic
Crystal class
dipyramidal
Crystal class symbol
mmm (D2h)
Crystal spacegroup
Pbca
Molar mass
136.17 $g/mol$
Density
2.33 $g/cm^3$
Refringence type
biaxial
Refringence sign
positive
Birefringence
0.0460
Refraction index $n_{\alpha}$
1.445
Refraction index $n_{\beta}$
1.46
Refraction index $n_{\gamma}$
1.491
Color
colorless, sky blue
Diaphaneity
transparent
Luster
vitreous