Abstract
The crystal structure of tetra-wickmanite, ideally Mn(2+)Sn(4+)(OH)6 [mangan-ese(II) tin(IV) hexa-hydroxide], has been determined based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction data collected from a natural sample from Långban, Sweden. Tetra-wickmanite belongs to the octa-hedral-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 Mn(2+) and Sn(4+), respectively. Tetra-wickmanite exhibits tetra-gonal symmetry and is topologically similar to its cubic polymorph, wickmanite. The tetra-wickmanite structure is characterized by a framework of alternating corner-linked [Mn(2+)(OH)6] and [Sn(4+)(OH)6] octa-hedra, 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 octa-hedra 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 tetra-gonal stottite, Fe(2+)Ge(4+)(OH)6.