Crystal chemistry of the natural vanadium bronzes

The crystal chemistry of the natural vanadium bronze minerals is reviewed on the basis of published information and new studies (mainly by X-ray powder-diffraction methods) using type material wherever possible. The known V bronze minerals are divided into three categories: 1) the hewettite group, 2) the straczekite group, 3) other structure types including navajoite, schubnelite, fervanite, shcherbinaite, bannermanite, and melanovanadite. All known structures associated with the fibrous V bronzes (fiber spacing 3.6 A??) can be considered as various lateral linkages (into sheets or networks) of only two types of polyvanadate chains: 1) a divanadate chain (V2O6)n consisting of alternating square pyramids, and 2) a tetravanadate chain (V4O12)n consisting of four highly condensed single octahedral chains. -from Authors