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Perryite, natural Ni-silicide, is a minor but regular constituent of the metal phase in enstatite chondrite (aubrite) and enstatite chondrite meteorites. Its synthetic analog was shown to have promising catalytic properties. The first-time solution of the crystal structure of natural perryite was completed on the material from the Mount Egerton aubrite. The mineral is trigonal, R-3c, a = 6.6525(5), c = 37.998(5) Å, V = 1456.3(3) and Z = 6. The structure was refined to R1 = 0.0137 based on 457 independent observed reflections. The chemical formula obtained from the structure refinement, (Ni14.14Fe1.88)S16.02PSi5, agrees with that derived from the electron microprobe data, (Ni13.39Fe2.65Co0.01)S16.05P1.22Si4.74. This research showed that P and Si in perryite are ordered, resulting in the simplified formula (Ni,Fe)16PSi8, in contrast to the currently accepted variant (Ni,Fe)8(Si,P)3. The detailed results of EBSD study reveal previously unknown relationships between perryite, associated a-(Fe,Ni) metal (also known as kamacite) and schreibersite, (Fe,Ni)3P. Since enstatitic meteorites represent the early stages of nebular accretion, our results demonstrate that the crystal-chemical factor could affect the differentiation of chemical elements upon the onset of the Solar System formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure of magnesian halotrichite has been refined for two samples collected as white efflorescences from the surface of geothermal fields associated with the Koshelevsky (sample VK4-09) and Centralny Semyachik (sample SC2-20) volcanoes (both Kamchatka peninsula, Russia). Halotrichite and its Mg-rich varieties are common products of the acid leaching of rocks, both volcanic and technogenic. The crystal structures of two halotrichite crystals were refined in the P21/n space group (vs. P21/c used previously) with the unit-cell parameters a = 6.1947(2)/6.1963(5) Å, b = 24.2966(8)/24.2821(14) Å, c = 21.0593(8)/21.063(2) Å, β = 96.512(4)/96.563(9) º, V = 3149.2(2)/3148.3(5) Å3, Z = 4 to R1 = 0.055 and 0.067 for 5673 and 3936 reflections with I > 2σI reflections, respectively. The crystal structure consists of isolated Al(H2O)6 octahedra, SO4 tetrahedra, H2O molecules and [X(SO4)(H2O)5]0 clusters (X = Fe, Mg). The chemical analyses of both samples show their enrichment of Mg at the Fe2+ site. The analysis of geometrical parameters of the crystal structures of halotrichite and its Mg-analogue pickeringite suggests that the localization of O atoms carried out in this work is more accurate and the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data for the first time allowed localization of hydrogen atom positions. The refined number of H2O molecules agrees with the ideal chemical formula. The crystal structure complexity of halotrichite is estimated as IG, total = 2305 bits/cell, which belongs to the family of very complex mineral structures. The contribution of hydrogen bonding system plays a significant role in the overall bonding scheme and the overall complexity of the crystal structure, increasing the Shannon information amount more than twice from IG, total(noH) = 988 bits/cell (no hydrogen atoms) to IG, total = 2305 bits/cell (all atoms including hydrogen). The comparative distribution of halotrichite relative to other Fe-Al hydrated sulfates from the standpoint of structural complexity is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]