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Negevite, the pyrite-type NiP2, a new terrestrial phosphide

  • Sergey N. Britvin , Michail N. Murashko , Yevgeny Vapnik , Yury S. Polekhovsky , Sergey V. Krivovichev , Oleg S. Vereshchagin ORCID logo , Vladimir V. Shilovskikh ORCID logo and Maria G. Krzhizhanovskaya
Published/Copyright: March 1, 2020
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 105 Issue 3

Abstract

Negevite, ideally NiP2, is a new phosphide mineral from pyrometamorphic complex of the Hatrurim Formation (the Mottled Zone), Southern Levant. It is found in phosphide assemblages of the Hatrurim Basin, south Negev Desert, Israel, and Daba-Siwaqa complex, Jordan. The mineral occurs as tiny isometric grains reaching 15 μm in size and forms intimate intergrowths with other phosphides related to the Fe-Ni-P system. In reflected light, negevite is white with yellowish tint and isotropic. Reflectance values for COM recommended wavelengths [R (%), λ (nm)] are as follows: 54.6 (470), 55.0 (546), 55.3 (589), 55.6 (650). Chemical composition of the holotype specimen (electron micro-probe, wt%): Ni 42.57, Co 3.40, Fe 2.87, P 42.93, S 8.33, total 100.10, corresponding to the empirical formula (Ni0.88Co0.07Fe0.06)S1.01(P1.68S0.31)S1.99. The crystal structure of negevite was solved and refined to R1 = 1.73% based on 52 independent observed [I >2σ(I)] reflections. The mineral is cubic, space group Pa3̅, a = 5.4816(5) Å, V = 164.71(3) Å3, and Z = 4. Dx = 4.881(1) g/cm3 calculated on the basis of the empirical formula. Negevite is a first natural phosphide belonging to the pyrite structure type. It is a chemical and structural analog of vaesite, NiS2, krutovite, NiAs2, and penroseite, NiSe2. The well-explored catalytic and photocatalytic properties of a synthetic counterpart of negevite could provide new insights into the possible role of higher phosphides as a source of low-valent phosphorus in prebiotic phosphorylation processes.

Keywords: NiP2; negevite; nickel phosphide; Fe-Ni-P system; pyrite; crystal structure; pyrometamorphism; prebiotic phosphorylation; meteorite

Acknowledgments and Funding

This research was funded by Russian Science Foundation, grant 18-17-00079. We thank the referees, Evgeny Galuskin and Inna Lykova, for the helpful comments and discussion of the manuscript. Associate Editor Fabrizio Nestola is thanked for handling of the review process. The authors thank X‑ray Diffraction Centre, “Geomodel” Resource Centre and Nanophotonics Resoure Centre of St. Petersburg State University for providing instrumental and computational resources.

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Received: 2019-07-03
Accepted: 2019-10-31
Published Online: 2020-03-01
Published in Print: 2020-03-26

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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  1. Heavy halogen geochemistry of martian shergottite meteorites and implications for the halogen composition of the depleted shergottite mantle source
  2. The distribution and abundance of halogens in eclogites: An in situ SIMS perspective of the Raspas Complex (Ecuador)
  3. Pressure dependence of Si diffusion in γ-Fe
  4. Seismic detectability of carbonates in the deep Earth: A nuclear inelastic scattering study
  5. Equations of state, phase relations, and oxygen fugacity of the Ru-RuO2 buffer at high pressures and temperatures
  6. Experimental determination of the phase relations of Pt and Pd antimonides and bismuthinides in the Fe-Ni-Cu sulfide systems between 1100 and 700 °C
  7. Layer stacking disorder in Mg-Fe chlorites based on powder X-ray diffraction data
  8. Elasticity of single-crystal Fe-enriched diopside at high-pressure conditions: Implications for the origin of upper mantle low-velocity zones
  9. XANES spectroscopy of sulfides stable under reducing conditions
  10. Zircon and apatite geochemical constraints on the formation of the Huojihe porphyry Mo deposit in the Lesser Xing’an Range, NE China
  11. Textural and compositional evolution of iron oxides at Mina Justa (Peru): Implications for mushketovite and formation of IOCG deposits
  12. Siwaqaite, Ca6Al2(CrO4)3(OH)12·26H2O, a new mineral of the ettringite group from the pyrometamorphic Daba-Siwaqa complex, Jordan
  13. Negevite, the pyrite-type NiP2, a new terrestrial phosphide
  14. Transjordanite, Ni2P, a new terrestrial and meteoritic phosphide, and natural solid solutions barringerite-transjordanite (hexagonal Fe2P–Ni2P)
https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2020-7192
Keywords for this article
NiP2; negevite; nickel phosphide; Fe-Ni-P system; pyrite; crystal structure; pyrometamorphism; prebiotic phosphorylation; meteorite

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Heavy halogen geochemistry of martian shergottite meteorites and implications for the halogen composition of the depleted shergottite mantle source
  2. The distribution and abundance of halogens in eclogites: An in situ SIMS perspective of the Raspas Complex (Ecuador)
  3. Pressure dependence of Si diffusion in γ-Fe
  4. Seismic detectability of carbonates in the deep Earth: A nuclear inelastic scattering study
  5. Equations of state, phase relations, and oxygen fugacity of the Ru-RuO2 buffer at high pressures and temperatures
  6. Experimental determination of the phase relations of Pt and Pd antimonides and bismuthinides in the Fe-Ni-Cu sulfide systems between 1100 and 700 °C
  7. Layer stacking disorder in Mg-Fe chlorites based on powder X-ray diffraction data
  8. Elasticity of single-crystal Fe-enriched diopside at high-pressure conditions: Implications for the origin of upper mantle low-velocity zones
  9. XANES spectroscopy of sulfides stable under reducing conditions
  10. Zircon and apatite geochemical constraints on the formation of the Huojihe porphyry Mo deposit in the Lesser Xing’an Range, NE China
  11. Textural and compositional evolution of iron oxides at Mina Justa (Peru): Implications for mushketovite and formation of IOCG deposits
  12. Siwaqaite, Ca6Al2(CrO4)3(OH)12·26H2O, a new mineral of the ettringite group from the pyrometamorphic Daba-Siwaqa complex, Jordan
  13. Negevite, the pyrite-type NiP2, a new terrestrial phosphide
  14. Transjordanite, Ni2P, a new terrestrial and meteoritic phosphide, and natural solid solutions barringerite-transjordanite (hexagonal Fe2P–Ni2P)
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