A vibrational spectroscopic study of tengerite-(Y) Y2(CO3)3 2–3H2O

• The mineral tengerite-(Y) has been studied by vibrational spectroscopy.
• Multiple carbonate stretching modes support the concept of non-equivalent carbonate units.
• Intense sharp bands at 464, 479 and 508 cm−1 are assigned to YO stretching modes.
• Multiple Raman and infrared bands in the OH stretching region are observed.

The mineral tengerite-(Y) has been studied by vibrational spectroscopy. Multiple carbonate stretching modes are observed and support the concept of non-equivalent carbonate units in the tengerite-(Y) structure. Intense sharp bands at 464, 479 and 508 cm−1 are assigned to YO stretching modes. Raman bands at 765 and 775 cm−1 are assigned to the CO32− ν4 bending modes and Raman bands at 589, 611, 674 and 689 cm−1 are assigned to the CO32− ν2 bending modes. Multiple Raman and infrared bands in the OH stretching region are observed, proving the existence of water in different molecular environments in the structure of tengerite-(Y).

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