Crystal chemistry and structural complexity of the uranyl carbonate minerals and synthetic compounds

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Crystal chemistry and structural complexity of the uranyl carbonate minerals and synthetic compounds. / Gurzhiy, Vladislav V.; Kalashnikova, Sophia A.; Kuporev, Ivan V.; Plášil, Jakub.

In: Crystals, Vol. 11, No. 6, 704, 19.06.2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

BibTeX

@article{da7ad20425104706bccf97fb781837d0,

title = "Crystal chemistry and structural complexity of the uranyl carbonate minerals and synthetic compounds",

abstract = "Uranyl carbonates are one of the largest groups of secondary uranium(VI)-bearing natural phases being represented by 40 minerals approved by the International Mineralogical Association, overtaken only by uranyl phosphates and uranyl sulfates. Uranyl carbonate phases form during the direct alteration of primary U ores on contact with groundwaters enriched by CO2, thus playing an important role in the release of U to the environment. The presence of uranyl carbonate phases has also been detected on the surface of “lavas” that were formed during the Chernobyl accident. It is of interest that with all the importance and prevalence of these phases, about a quarter of approved minerals still have undetermined crystal structures, and the number of synthetic phases for which the structures were determined is significantly inferior to structurally characterized natural uranyl carbonates. In this work, we review the crystal chemistry of natural and synthetic uranyl carbonate phases. The majority of synthetic analogs of minerals were obtained from aqueous solutions at room temperature, which directly points to the absence of specific environmental conditions (increased P or T) for the formation of natural uranyl carbonates. Uranyl carbonates do not have excellent topological diversity and are mainly composed of finite clusters with rigid structures. Thus the structural architecture of uranyl carbonates is largely governed by the interstitial cations and the hydration state of the compounds. The information content is usually higher for minerals than for synthetic compounds of similar or close chemical composition, which likely points to the higher stability and preferred architectures of natural compounds.",

keywords = "Carbonate, Crystal structure, Mineral, Structural complexity, Topology, Uranyl, ANDERSONITE, uranyl, topology, X-RAY-DIFFRACTION, RAMAN, URANIUM MINERALS, U6+ MINERALS, SAN-JUAN COUNTY, MARKEY MINE, crystal structure, structural complexity, SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION, LIEBIGITE, mineral, carbonate, RUTHERFORDINE",

author = "Gurzhiy, {Vladislav V.} and Kalashnikova, {Sophia A.} and Kuporev, {Ivan V.} and Jakub Pl{\'a}{\v s}il",

year = "2021",

month = jun,

day = "19",

doi = "10.3390/cryst11060704",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

journal = "Crystals",

issn = "2073-4352",

publisher = "MDPI AG",

number = "6",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Crystal chemistry and structural complexity of the uranyl carbonate minerals and synthetic compounds

AU - Gurzhiy, Vladislav V.

AU - Kalashnikova, Sophia A.

AU - Kuporev, Ivan V.

AU - Plášil, Jakub

PY - 2021/6/19

Y1 - 2021/6/19

N2 - Uranyl carbonates are one of the largest groups of secondary uranium(VI)-bearing natural phases being represented by 40 minerals approved by the International Mineralogical Association, overtaken only by uranyl phosphates and uranyl sulfates. Uranyl carbonate phases form during the direct alteration of primary U ores on contact with groundwaters enriched by CO2, thus playing an important role in the release of U to the environment. The presence of uranyl carbonate phases has also been detected on the surface of “lavas” that were formed during the Chernobyl accident. It is of interest that with all the importance and prevalence of these phases, about a quarter of approved minerals still have undetermined crystal structures, and the number of synthetic phases for which the structures were determined is significantly inferior to structurally characterized natural uranyl carbonates. In this work, we review the crystal chemistry of natural and synthetic uranyl carbonate phases. The majority of synthetic analogs of minerals were obtained from aqueous solutions at room temperature, which directly points to the absence of specific environmental conditions (increased P or T) for the formation of natural uranyl carbonates. Uranyl carbonates do not have excellent topological diversity and are mainly composed of finite clusters with rigid structures. Thus the structural architecture of uranyl carbonates is largely governed by the interstitial cations and the hydration state of the compounds. The information content is usually higher for minerals than for synthetic compounds of similar or close chemical composition, which likely points to the higher stability and preferred architectures of natural compounds.

AB - Uranyl carbonates are one of the largest groups of secondary uranium(VI)-bearing natural phases being represented by 40 minerals approved by the International Mineralogical Association, overtaken only by uranyl phosphates and uranyl sulfates. Uranyl carbonate phases form during the direct alteration of primary U ores on contact with groundwaters enriched by CO2, thus playing an important role in the release of U to the environment. The presence of uranyl carbonate phases has also been detected on the surface of “lavas” that were formed during the Chernobyl accident. It is of interest that with all the importance and prevalence of these phases, about a quarter of approved minerals still have undetermined crystal structures, and the number of synthetic phases for which the structures were determined is significantly inferior to structurally characterized natural uranyl carbonates. In this work, we review the crystal chemistry of natural and synthetic uranyl carbonate phases. The majority of synthetic analogs of minerals were obtained from aqueous solutions at room temperature, which directly points to the absence of specific environmental conditions (increased P or T) for the formation of natural uranyl carbonates. Uranyl carbonates do not have excellent topological diversity and are mainly composed of finite clusters with rigid structures. Thus the structural architecture of uranyl carbonates is largely governed by the interstitial cations and the hydration state of the compounds. The information content is usually higher for minerals than for synthetic compounds of similar or close chemical composition, which likely points to the higher stability and preferred architectures of natural compounds.

KW - Carbonate

KW - Crystal structure

KW - Mineral

KW - Structural complexity

KW - Topology

KW - Uranyl

KW - ANDERSONITE

KW - uranyl

KW - topology

KW - X-RAY-DIFFRACTION

KW - RAMAN

KW - URANIUM MINERALS

KW - U6+ MINERALS

KW - SAN-JUAN COUNTY

KW - MARKEY MINE

KW - crystal structure

KW - structural complexity

KW - SPECTROSCOPIC CHARACTERIZATION

KW - LIEBIGITE

KW - mineral

KW - carbonate

KW - RUTHERFORDINE

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85109110386&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/197dfaee-cbbf-3765-a122-67d96dd6af8e/

U2 - 10.3390/cryst11060704

DO - 10.3390/cryst11060704

M3 - Review article

AN - SCOPUS:85109110386

VL - 11

JO - Crystals

JF - Crystals

SN - 2073-4352

IS - 6

M1 - 704

ER -

ID: 78837973