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Structural complexity and crystallization: the Ostwald sequence of phases in the Cu2(OH)3Cl system (botallackite–atacamite–clinoatacamite)

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Abstract

Analysis of the evolution of structural complexity of the Cu2(OH)3Cl polymorphs along the botallackite–atacamite–clinoatacamite Ostwald cascade of phases from the viewpoint of Shannon information-based complexity parameters shows that structural information increases during the transition from less stable to more stable phases. Among the three polymorphs, botallackite is the simplest, atacamite is intermediate, and clinoatacamite is the most complex. This agrees well with the Goldsmith’s simplexity rule and shows that complexity is a physically important parameter that characterizes crystallization in complex chemical systems. Consideration of the crystal structures of the Cu2(OH)3Cl polymorphs in terms of their Cu–Cl arrays shows that transformation between the phases involves breaking and formation of chemical bonds and therefore has a reconstructive character.

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Acknowledgments

SVK is grateful to the Russian Science Foundation (Grant 14-17-00071) for financial support of this study. FCH acknowledges support of an NSERC Discovery Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crystallography, Institute of Earth Sciences, Saint-Petersburg State University, University Emb. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034

    Sergey V. Krivovichev

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 125 Dysart Road (Wallace Building), Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Frank C. Hawthorne

  3. School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia

    Peter A. Williams

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  1. Sergey V. Krivovichev
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  2. Frank C. Hawthorne
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  3. Peter A. Williams
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Correspondence to Sergey V. Krivovichev.

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Dedicated to A.L. Mackay on the occassion of his 90th birthday.

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Krivovichev, S.V., Hawthorne, F.C. & Williams, P.A. Structural complexity and crystallization: the Ostwald sequence of phases in the Cu2(OH)3Cl system (botallackite–atacamite–clinoatacamite). Struct Chem 28, 153–159 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-016-0792-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11224-016-0792-z

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