| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1234003 | Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy | 2014 | 5 Pages |
•We have undertaken a study of the phosphate mineral churchite.•EDX analysis shows a rare earth phosphate.•SEM shows lone acicular crystals.•The mineral is characterized by its vibrational spectra.
Vibrational spectroscopy has been used to study the rare earth mineral churchite of formula (REE)(PO4)⋅2H2O. The mineral contains a range of rare earth metals including yttrium depending on the locality. The Raman spectra of churchite-(REE) are characterized by an intense sharp band at 984 cm−1 assigned to the ν1(PO43-) symmetric stretching mode. A lower intensity band observed at around 1067 cm−1 is attributed to the ν3(PO43-) antisymmetric stretching mode. The (PO43-) bending modes are observed at 497 cm−1 (ν2) and 565 cm−1(ν4). Raman bands at 649 and 681 cm−1 are assigned to water librational modes. Vibrational spectroscopy enables aspects of the structure of churchite to be ascertained.
Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide
