Dynamic Disorder of Fe3+ Ions in the Crystal Structure of Natural Barioferrite

A natural barioferrite, BaFe3+12O19, from a larnite–schorlomite–gehlenite vein of paralava within gehlenite hornfels of the Hatrurim Complex at Har Parsa, Negev Desert, Israel, was investigated by Raman spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and single-crystal X-ray analyses acquired over the temperature range of 100–400 K. The crystals are up to 0.3 mm × 0.1 mm in size and form intergrowths with hematite, magnesioferrite, khesinite, and harmunite. The empirical formula of the barioferrite investigated is as follows: (Ba0.85Ca0.12Sr0.03)∑1(Fe3+10.72Al0.46Ti4+0.41Mg0.15Cu2+0.09Ca0.08Zn0.04Mn2+0.03Si0.01)∑11.99O19. The strongest bands in the Raman spectrum are as follows: 712, 682, 617, 515, 406, and 328 cm−1. The structure of natural barioferrite (P63/mmc, a = 5.8901(2) Å, c = 23.1235(6) Å, V = 694.75(4) Å3, Z = 2) is identical with the structure of synthetic barium ferrite and can be described as an interstratification of two fundamental blocks: spinel-like S-modules with a cubic stacking sequence and R-modules that have hexagonal stacking. The displacement ellipsoids of the trigonal bipyramidal site show elongation along the [001] direction during heating. As a function of temperature, the mean apical Fe–O bond lengths increase, whereas the equatorial bond lengths decrease, which indicates dynamic disorder at the Fe2 site.