Crystal Structure Refinement of Miargyrite, AgSbS2

Joseph V. Smith, Joseph J. Pluth and Shao-xu Han
Department of Geophysical Sciences & Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

Abstract: Miargyrite is the low-temperature monoclinic derivative of a high temperature cubic galena/halite structure. The essential features of its crystal structure (Knowles, 1959) were confirmed, but the details of the bonding changed [new space group C121; a 12.824(1), b 4.4060(3), c 13.193(1) Å, β 98.567(6)°]. The octahedral connectivity of galena/halite is severely distorted: Ag(1), 2S each at 2.53, 2.66 & 3.39 Å; Ag(2), 2 each at 2.54, 2.62 and 3.44; Ag(3), 2.38, 2.40, 3.05, 3.05, 3.53, 3.58; Sb(1), 2.45, 2.50, 2.51, 3.22 3.28, 3.41; Sb(2), 2.45, 2.50, 2.51, 3.22, 3.28, 3.41. The short distances define the following coordinations: very distorted tetrahedral Ag(1) and (2); near-linear Ag(3) at 178.9(2)° trigonal-pyramidal Sb(1) and (2) at 92.0, 93.6 and 96.8°. The ten shortest S-S distances range from 3.61 to 3.77 Å.

Keywords: miargyrite • crystal stricture • AgSbS2

Mineralogical Magazine; October 1997 v. 61; no. 408; p. 671-675; DOI: 10.1180/minmag.1997.061.408.05
© 1997, The Mineralogical Society
Mineralogical Society (www.minersoc.org)