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X-ray study of psilomelane and cryptomelane

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Bibhuti Mukherjee*
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of India, Calcutta

Summary

Psilomelane has been shown to be orthorhombic with a 8·254, b 13·40, c 2·864 Å. by the application of Lipson's method. The indexing of powder photographs of psilomelane , where R″ includes the bivalent metals Mn, Ba, Ca, Mg, Co) indicates the space-group P21212 (D22) with one molecule per unit cell. Indexing of powder photographs of psilomelane is not satisfactory with Vaux's axes. Fermor's ‘psilomelane’ is cryptomelane, which is tetragonal with a 9·822, c 2·858 Å. Cryptomelane (KR8O16, where R stands for Mn in different valency states, partly replaced by other cations) is body-centred tetragonal with one molecule per unit cell. Fermor's stalactitic ‘psilomelane’ has an inner dull core of cryptomelane and an outer fine-grained crust of pyrolusite in each needle-shaped body.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1959

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