- Wurtzite
"This article is about the mineral wurtzite. For the wurtzite crystal structure, see
Wurtzite (crystal structure) ."Wurtzite is a
zinc iron sulfide mineral ((Zn,Fe)S) a less frequently encounteredmineral form ofsphalerite .Its
crystal structure is called the wurtzite crystal structure, to which it lends its name. This structure is a member of the hexagonalcrystal system and consists of tetrahedrally coordinatedzinc andsulfur atoms that are stacked in an ABABAB pattern.The unit cell parameters of wurtzite are
*"a" = "b" = 3.81 Å = 381 pm
*"c" = 6.23 Å = 623 pmIt occurs in
hydrothermal deposits associated withsphalerite ,pyrite ,chalcopyrite ,barite andmarcasite .It was first described for an occurrence in Príbram,
Czech Republic in 1861 and named for French chemistCharles-Adolphe Wurtz .References
* [http://rruff.geo.arizona.edu/doclib/hom/wurtzite.pdf Mineral Handbook]
* [http://webmineral.com/data/Wurtzite.shtml Webmineral]
* [http://www.mindat.org/min-4318.html Mindat]External links
[http://mineral.galleries.com/MINERALS/sulfides/wurtzite/wurtzite.htm The Mineral Wurtzite]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.