Site distribution of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the axinite mineral group: New crystal-chemical formula

A set of nine samples of axinite, selected from 60 specimens from worldwide localities, were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electron and ion microprobe, and Fe-57 Mossbauer spectroscopy. The selected samples cover the compositional join from almost pure ferroaxinite (80%) to pure manganaxinite (95%). A new crystal-chemical formula for the axinite mineral group is proposed: (VI)[X1 X2 Y Z1 Z2](2)(IV)[T1 T2 T3 T4 T5](2)O-30(OwOH1-w)(2) where VI and IV are coordination numbers; X1 = Ca and very minor Na; X2 = Ca (in axinites) or Mn (in tinzenite); Y = Mn (in manganaxinite and tinzenite), Fe2+ (in ferroaxinite) or Mg (in magnesioaxinite), with minor A1 and Fe3+; Z1 = Al and Fe3+; Z2 = Al: T1. T2, and T3 = Si; T4 = Si (and presumably very minor B); T5 = B and minor Si. Charge unbalance (w), due to heterovalent substitutions, is compensated for by O2- --> OH- substitution. From ferroaxinite to manganaxinite, cell volume increases linearly from 568.70 to 573.60 Angstrom(3). This is mainly due to an increase in the <Y-O> mean distance from 2.220 to 2.255 A, which is directly related to the Mn population (up to 1.89 apfu). Fe3+ concentrations, as determined by Fe-57 Mossbauer spectra at 80 K, sub-regularly increase up to 0.27 apfu, and three cases are evidenced: (1) Fe3+ much less than Fe2+ (or no Fe3+), in ferroaxinite; (2) Fe3+ < Fe2+, in intermediate compositions, and (3) Fe3+ > Fe2+ (or only Fe3+), in manganaxinite. Chemical and structural data were co-processed via a computer minimization program to obtain the cation distribution scheme. Adopting the Hard-Sphere Model, empirical cation-oxygen distances were refined for every cation in the axinite structure. The results revealed that Fe2+ is ordered at the octahedral Y site (up to 1.61 apfu), whereas Fe3+ is ordered at the octahedral Z1 site (up to 0.26 apfu) and is almost absent in the smallest Z2 site, which is fully populated by Al. The observed Fe3+ partitioning is in agreement with the structural results, which show that the Z1 octahedron is always larger than Z2. Moreover, no Fe3+ is found at the tetrahedral sites, but Si --> B substitution occurs at T5. The continuous Y dimensional increase from ferroaxinite to manganaxinite involves progressive enlargement of the edge-sharing Z1 octahedron. As a consequence, the Fe-Z1(3+) --> Al-Z1(3+) substitution is structurally favored toward manganaxinite and points to a new end-member with the suggested name "ferri-manganaxinite".