Plattnerite
Encyclopedia
Plattnerite is an oxide mineral
and is the beta crystalline form of lead dioxide (β-PbO2), scrutinyite
being the other, alpha form. It was first reported in 1845 and named after German mineralogist Karl Friedrich Plattner
. Plattnerite forms bundles of dark needle-like crystals on various minerals; the crystals are hard and brittle and have tetragonal symmetry.
), most of Europe, Asia (Iran
and Russia
), Africa (Namibia
) and Southern and Western Australia
.
It occurs in weathered hydrothermal
base-metal deposits as hay-like bundles of dark prismatic crystals with a length of a few millimeters; the bundles grow on, or sometimes within various minerals, including cerussite
, smithsonite
, hemimorphite
, leadhillite
, hydrozincite
, rosasite
, aurichalcite
, murdochite
, limonite
, pyromorphite
, wulfenite
, calcite
and quartz
.
(1800–1858), professor of metallurgy and assaying at the Mining Academy in Freiberg, Saxony
, Germany
.
Its crystal structure was refined later on synthetic samples. Plattnerite belongs to the rutile
mineral group. It has tetragonal symmetry, space group
P42/mnm (No. 136), Pearson symbol
tP6, lattice constants a = 0.491 nm, c = 0.3385 nm, Z = 2 (two formula units per unit cell).
Lead dioxide is used in lead acid batteries and electrochemistry, but only in synthetic form – both plattnerite and scrutinyite are too rare and find no practical application.
Oxide mineral
The oxide mineral class includes those minerals in which the oxide anion is bonded to one or more metal ions. The hydroxide bearing minerals are typically included in the oxide class...
and is the beta crystalline form of lead dioxide (β-PbO2), scrutinyite
Scrutinyite
Scrutinyite is a rare oxide mineral and is the alpha crystalline form of lead dioxide , plattnerite being the other, beta form. The mineral was first reported in 1988 and its name reflects the scrutiny and efforts required to identify it from a very limited amount of available sample...
being the other, alpha form. It was first reported in 1845 and named after German mineralogist Karl Friedrich Plattner
Karl Friedrich Plattner
Karl Friedrich Plattner was a German metallurgical chemist.He was born at Kleinwaltersdorf, near Freiberg in the Electorate of Saxony, on 2 January 1800. His father, though only a poor working miner, found the means to have him educated first at the Bergschule and then at the Bergakademie of...
. Plattnerite forms bundles of dark needle-like crystals on various minerals; the crystals are hard and brittle and have tetragonal symmetry.
Occurrence
Plattnerite is found in numerous arid locations in North America (US and MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
), most of Europe, Asia (Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
), Africa (Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
) and Southern and Western Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
It occurs in weathered hydrothermal
Hydrothermal circulation
Hydrothermal circulation in its most general sense is the circulation of hot water; 'hydros' in the Greek meaning water and 'thermos' meaning heat. Hydrothermal circulation occurs most often in the vicinity of sources of heat within the Earth's crust...
base-metal deposits as hay-like bundles of dark prismatic crystals with a length of a few millimeters; the bundles grow on, or sometimes within various minerals, including cerussite
Cerussite
Cerussite is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate , and an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin cerussa, white lead. Cerussa nativa was mentioned by Conrad Gessner in 1565, and in 1832 F. S. Beudant applied the name cruse to the mineral, whilst the present form, cerussite, is due to...
, smithsonite
Smithsonite
Smithsonite, or zinc spar, is zinc carbonate , a mineral ore of zinc. Historically, smithsonite was identified with hemimorphite before it was realised that they were two distinct minerals. The two minerals are very similar in appearance and the term calamine has been used for both, leading to some...
, hemimorphite
Hemimorphite
Hemimorphite, is a sorosilicate mineral which has been mined from days of old from the upper parts of zinc and lead ores, chiefly associated with smithsonite. It was often assumed to be the same mineral and both were classed under the same name of calamine...
, leadhillite
Leadhillite
Leadhillite is a lead sulfate carbonate hydroxide mineral, often associated with anglesite. It has the formula Pb4SO422.Leadhillite crystallizes in the monoclinic system, but forms pseudo-hexagonal forms due to crystal twinning. It forms transparent to translucent variably colored adamantine crystals...
, hydrozincite
Hydrozincite
Hydrozincite, also known as zinc bloom, is a white carbonate mineral consisting of Zn526. It is usually found in massive rather than crystalline form.It occurs as an oxidation product of zinc ores and as post mine incrustations...
, rosasite
Rosasite
Rosasite is a carbonate mineral with minor potential for use as a zinc and copper ore. Chemically, it is a copper zinc carbonate hydroxide with a copper to zinc ratio of 3:2, occurring in the secondary oxidation zone of copper-zinc deposits. It was originally discovered in 1908 in the Rosas mine in...
, aurichalcite
Aurichalcite
Aurichalcite is a carbonate mineral, usually found as a secondary mineral in copper and zinc deposits. Its chemical formula is 526...
, murdochite
Murdochite
Murdochite is a mineral combining lead and copper oxides with formula PbCu6O8-x2x.It was first discovered in 1953 in the Mammoth-Saint Anthony Mine in Pinal County, Arizona. It was named for Joseph Murdoch , American mineralogist....
, limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
, pyromorphite
Pyromorphite
Pyromorphite is a mineral species composed of lead chlorophosphate: Pb53Cl, sometimes occurring in sufficient abundance to be mined as an ore of lead. Crystals are common, and have the form of a hexagonal prism terminated by the basal planes, sometimes combined with narrow faces of a hexagonal...
, wulfenite
Wulfenite
Wulfenite is a lead molybdate mineral with the formula PbMoO4. It can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color, sometimes brown, although the color can be highly variable. In its yellow form it is sometimes called "yellow lead ore".It crystallizes...
, calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
and quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
.
Properties and applications
Basic properties of plattnerite were described in 1845. Already then, the mineral was known under its name, given to honor Karl Friedrich PlattnerKarl Friedrich Plattner
Karl Friedrich Plattner was a German metallurgical chemist.He was born at Kleinwaltersdorf, near Freiberg in the Electorate of Saxony, on 2 January 1800. His father, though only a poor working miner, found the means to have him educated first at the Bergschule and then at the Bergakademie of...
(1800–1858), professor of metallurgy and assaying at the Mining Academy in Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg, Saxony
Freiberg is a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, administrative center of the Mittelsachsen district.-History:The city was founded in 1186, and has been a center of the mining industry in the Ore Mountains for centuries...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Its crystal structure was refined later on synthetic samples. Plattnerite belongs to the rutile
Rutile
Rutile is a mineral composed primarily of titanium dioxide, TiO2.Rutile is the most common natural form of TiO2. Two rarer polymorphs of TiO2 are known:...
mineral group. It has tetragonal symmetry, space group
Space group
In mathematics and geometry, a space group is a symmetry group, usually for three dimensions, that divides space into discrete repeatable domains.In three dimensions, there are 219 unique types, or counted as 230 if chiral copies are considered distinct...
P42/mnm (No. 136), Pearson symbol
Pearson symbol
The Pearson symbol, or Pearson notation, is used in crystallography as a means of describing a crystal structure, and was originated by W.B. Pearson. The symbol is made up of two letters followed by a number. For example:* Diamond structure, cF8...
tP6, lattice constants a = 0.491 nm, c = 0.3385 nm, Z = 2 (two formula units per unit cell).
Lead dioxide is used in lead acid batteries and electrochemistry, but only in synthetic form – both plattnerite and scrutinyite are too rare and find no practical application.