Crystal structure of tetrawickmanite, Mn2+Sn4+(OH)6

Abstract

The crystal structure of tetrawickmanite, ideally Mn2+Sn4+(OH)6 [manganese(II) tin(IV) hexahydroxide], has been determined based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction data collected from a natural sample from Långban, Sweden. Tetrawickmanite belongs to the octahedral-framework group of hydroxide-perovskite minerals, described by the general formula BB'(OH)6 with a perovskite derivative structure. The structure differs from that of an ABO3 perovskite in that the A site is empty while each O atom is bonded to an H atom. The perovskite B-type cations split into ordered B and B′ sites, which are occupied by Mn2+ and Sn4+, respectively. Tetrawickmanite exhibits tetragonal symmetry and is topologically similar to its cubic polymorph, wickmanite. The tetrawickmanite structure is characterized by a framework of alternating corner-linked [Mn2+(OH)6] and [Sn4+(OH)6] octahedra, both with point-group symmetry -1. Four of the five distinct H atoms in the structure are statistically disordered. The vacant A site is in a cavity in the centre of a distorted cube formed by eight octahedra at the corners. However, the hydrogen-atom positions and their hydrogen bonds are not equivalent in every cavity, resulting in two distinct environments. One of the cavities contains a ring of four hydrogen bonds, similar to that found in wickmanite, while the other cavity is more distorted and forms crankshaft-type chains of hydrogen bonds, as previously proposed for tetragonal stottite, Fe2+Ge4+(OH)6.

Keywords

• crystal structure
• tetrawickmanite
• mineral structure
• polymorphism.