Crystal-forming functions of glide planes in the structural organization of a number of (Pb, Bi)-containing sulfides

Abstract

The reasons for the preference of glide planes in natural crystals are considered by studying the results of an X-ray crystallography analysis of the minerals salzburgite, eldragonite, izoklakeite, and vikingite. The glide planes organize the combination of right- of atomic fragments, which appear during crystallization, and contribute to a uniform distribution of atoms in complex compositions and a more dense and symmetrical packing. The fact that the structures have cation and anion sublattices with similar dimensions and orientations creates a situation similar to that of beats in oscillatory systems and, hence, modulates the intensity of X-ray reflections. The progressively increasing number of structures where individual atomic positions are occupied by two or more types of atoms suggests a stable geometry of the corresponding atomic sublattices with respect to compositional variations. Analysis of these “skeletal” sublattices is a key to understanding the solid-phase transformations, contact interactions, and dynamic processes in mineral associations.