Fougèrite is a relatively recently described naturally occurring
green rust
Green rust is a generic name for various green crystalline chemical compounds containing iron(II) and iron(III) cations, the hydroxide () anion, and another anion such as carbonate (), chloride (), or sulfate (), in a layered double hydroxide (LDH ...
mineral. It is the archetype of the
fougèrite group
Fougèrite is a relatively recently described naturally occurring green rust mineral. It is the archetype of the fougèrite group in the larger hydrotalcite supergroup of naturally occurring layered double hydroxides. The structure is based on bru ...
in the larger
hydrotalcite supergroup of naturally occurring
layered double hydroxides
Layered double hydroxides (LDH) are a class of ionic solids characterized by a layered structure with the generic layer sequence cB Z AcBsub>''n'', where c represents positively charged layers of metal cations, A and B are layers of hydroxide ( ...
. The structure is based on
brucite
Brucite is the mineral form of magnesium hydroxide, with the chemical formula Magnesium, Mg(hydroxyl, OH)2. It is a common alteration product of periclase in marble; a low-temperature hydrothermal Vein (geology), vein mineral in metamorphosed li ...
-like layers containing Fe
2+ and Fe
3+ cations, O
2− and OH
− anions, with loosely bound
3">O3sup>2− groups and H
2O molecules between the layers. Fougèrite crystallizes in
trigonal
In crystallography, the hexagonal crystal family is one of the six crystal family, crystal families, which includes two crystal systems (hexagonal and trigonal) and two lattice systems (hexagonal and rhombohedral). While commonly confused, the tr ...
system. The ideal formula for fougèrite is
2+4Fe3+2(OH)12">e2+4Fe3+2(OH)12CO
3]·3H
2O. Higher degrees of oxidation produce the other members of the fougèrite group, namely
trébeurdenite,
2+2Fe3+4O2(OH)10">e2+2Fe3+4O2(OH)10CO
3]·3H
2O and
mössbauerite,
3+6O4(OH)8">e3+6O4(OH)8CO
3]·3H
2O.
Fougèrite was first found in forested soils near
Fougères
Fougères (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Foujerr'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine Departments of France, department, located in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, no ...
,
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, France, and recognised as a valid mineral species by the
International Mineralogical Association
Founded in 1958, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) is an international group of 40 national societies. The goal is to promote the science of mineralogy and to standardize the nomenclature of the 5000 plus known mineral species. ...
in 2002.
[Fougèrite data on Mindat.org]
/ref> It is blue-green to bluish-gray in colour, and resembles clay minerals
Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates (e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4), sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths, and other cations found on or near some planetary surfaces.
Clay mineral ...
in habit, forming hexagonal platelets of submicron diameter. In this environment, it is intimately intergrown with trébeurdenite, to give varying overall ratios of Fe2+:Fe3+. The existence of two intergrown fixed-composition phases has been demonstrated by Mössbauer spectroscopy
Mössbauer spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique based on the Mössbauer effect. This effect, discovered by Rudolf Mössbauer (sometimes written "Moessbauer", German: "Mößbauer") in 1958, consists of the nearly recoil-free emission and a ...
. The mineral is unstable in air, and decomposes by oxidation, dehydration and decarbonation, to ferrihydrite
Ferrihydrite (Fh) is a widespread hydrous ferric oxyhydroxide mineral at the Earth's surface, and a likely constituent in extraterrestrial materials. It forms in several types of environments, from freshwater to marine systems, aquifers to hydro ...
, and ultimately to lepidocrocite
Lepidocrocite (γ-FeO(OH)), also called esmeraldite or hydrohematite, is an iron oxide-hydroxide mineral. Lepidocrocite has an orthorhombic crystal structure, a hardness of 5, specific gravity of 4, a submetallic luster and a yellow-brown stre ...
or goethite
Goethite (, ) is a mineral of the diaspore group, consisting of iron(III) oxide-hydroxide, specifically the α- polymorph. It is found in soil and other low-temperature environments such as sediment. Goethite has been well known since ancient t ...
, FeIIIO(OH).[Génin J.-M. R., Aïssa R., Géhin A., Abdelmoula M., Benali O., Ernstsen V., Ona-Nguema G., Upadhyay Ch. and Ruby Ch.; 2005: ''Fougerite and FeII-III hydroxycarbonate green rust; ordering, deprotonation and/or cation substitution; structure of hydrotalcite-like compounds and mythic ferrosic hydroxide Fe(OH)2+x,'' Solid State Sciences, vol. 7., no. 5, p. 545-572. .]
See also
* Clay minerals
Clay minerals are hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates (e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4), sometimes with variable amounts of iron, magnesium, alkali metals, alkaline earths, and other cations found on or near some planetary surfaces.
Clay mineral ...
* Gley soil
A gleysol or gley soil is a hydric soil that unless drained is saturated with groundwater for long enough to develop a characteristic colour pattern. The pattern is essentially made up of reddish, brownish, or yellowish colours at surfaces of so ...
* Iron(II) hydroxide
Iron (II) hydroxide or ferrous hydroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula Fe(OH)2. It is produced when iron (II) salts, from a compound such as iron(II) sulfate, are treated with hydroxide ions. Iron(II) hydroxide is a white solid, but ev ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fougerite
Iron(II,III) minerals
Hydroxide minerals
Carbonate minerals
Clay minerals group
Trihydrate minerals
Pedology
Corrosion
Trigonal minerals
Minerals in space group 166
Minerals described in 2002