COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE HUNTITE-FAMILY COMPOUNDS

Abstract

The literature data on the composition and structure of rare-earth borate compounds of the huntite family with the general composition LnM3(BO3)4, where Ln3+ = Y, La = Lu and M3+ = Al, Fe, Cr, Ga, Sc as well as a number of solid solutions with М3+ = Sc are systematized. The difference between the real compositions of crystals and the compositions of the initial mixture, the most characteristic of rare-earth scandium borates, is shown. The significant role of the composition in the manifestation of the compounds symmetry is established. The necessity of determining the crystals symmetry only on single-crystals with detailed analysis of diffraction reflections is proved. Morphotropic series were selected depending on changes in the ionic radii of Ln and M. Attention is paid to the peculiarity of the structural behavior of Cr3+ ions. It was revealed that the formation of solid solutions and internal solid solutions is most likely for rare-earth scandium borates. The implementation of polytypic modifications for LnM3(BO3)4, where M3+ = Al, Cr, and polymorphs for a number of Ln ions with M3+ = Fe, the existence of which is not excluded for M3+ = Sc, is demonstrated. Crystal-chemical effects observed for huntite-like crystals (morphotropy, isomorphism, polymorphism, polytypy; internal solid solutions; phase order-disorder phase transitions of different nature) with specific features of scandium borates are presented. The realization of polymorphism and polytypism for compounds of the huntite family confirms the crystal-chemical situation, according to which hightemperature polymorphic modifications should form more symmetrical compounds, but it is not typical of polytypic modifications.