Crystal structure refinement of reedmergnerite, the boron analog of albite

Ordering of boron in a feldspar crystallographic site T₁(0) has been found in reedmergnerite, which has silicon-oxygen and sodium-oxygen distances comparable to those in isostructural low albite. If a simple ionic model is assumed, calculated bond strengths yield a considerable charge imbalance in reedmergnerite, an indication of the inadequacy of the model with respect to these complex structures and of the speculative nature of conclusions based on such a model.