Crystal-chemical and structural data related to the equation of state and second-order elastic constants of portlandite Ca(OH)2 and brucite Mg(OH)2

Abstract

This data article reports crystal-chemical and structural data (unit cell parameters and internal coordinates) of two hydroxyl minerals, namely brucite [magnesium hydroxide, Mg(OH)2] and portlandite [calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2], which were calculated and employed to derive the mechanical behavior of these solid phases under hydrostatic compression (Ulian and Valdrè, 2018). The dataset has been obtained by ab initio quantum mechanical means, by employing Density Functional Theory methods, in particular the B3LYP hybrid functional, all-electron Gaussian-type orbitals basis sets and a correction to take into account the effects of dispersive forces. Equilibrium and expanded/compressed models of both minerals were realized and geometrically optimized within two space group settings, P3¯m1 and P3¯.