Eur. J. Mineral.
2018, 30, 999–1006
Published online 22 May 2018

Meitnerite, (NH4)(UO2)(SO4)(OH)·2H2O, a new uranyl-sulfate mineralwith a sheet structure 2, BARBARA P. NASH3 and JOE MARTY4ANTHONY R. KAMPF1,*, JAKUB PLÁSIL
1

Mineral Sciences Department, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard,
Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA*Corresponding author, e-mail: akampf@nhm.org
2
Institute of Physics ASCR, v.v.i., Na Slovance 1999/2, 18221 Prague 8, Czech Republic
3
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA
45199 East Silver Oak Road, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA

Abstract: Meitnerite (IMA2017-065), (NH4)(UO2)(SO4)(OH)·2H2O, is a new mineral from the Green Lizard mine in Red Canyon,
San Juan County, Utah, USA, where it occurs as a secondary alteration phase. It occurs on partially recrystallized quartz grains inassociation with beshtauite and gypsum. Meitnerite occurs as intergrowths of tabular crystals, ﬂattened on {0 1 1}, up to about 80 mm
in diameter and 30 mm thick. The mineral is slightly greenish yellow and transparent with a vitreous lustre and very pale yellow streak.
It exhibits greenish-white ﬂuorescence in 405 nm light. Crystals are brittle with irregular fracture, and a perfect cleavage on {0 1 1}.
The Mohs’ hardness is ca. 2. The calculated density is 3.320 g·cm3. At room temperature, the mineral is slowly soluble in H2O andvery rapidly soluble in dilute HCl. Optically, meitnerite is biaxial (–), with a = 1.568(2), b = 1.589(2), g = 1.607(2) (white light);
2V = 84(1)°. The dispersion is r > v, moderate, The optical orientation is X ∧ b = 26°, Y ∧ a = 15°, Z ∧ c = 53°. The pleochroism is X
nearly colourless, Z pale green yellow, Y light green yellow; X < Z < Y. Electron-microprobe analyses gave the empirical formula(U0.97O2)(S1.03O4)[(OH)0.93O0.07]·2H2O, based on 9 O apfu. Meitnerite
is triclinic, P1, a = 6.7964(2), b = 8.0738(3),(NH4)1.01Na0.07

c = 9.2997(7) A, a = 113.284(8), b = 99.065(7), g = 105.289(7)°, V = 431.96(5) A3 and Z = 2. The crystal structure, reﬁned to R1 = 0.013
for 1871 observed reﬂections [I > 2sI], contains uranyl sulfate sheets based on the phosphuranylite anion topology. The interlayer
region contains an NH4þ group and two H2O groups.
Key-words: meitnerite; new mineral; crystal structure; uranyl sulfate; phosphuranylite anion topology; Green Lizard mine, Red
Canyon, Utah, USA.

1. Introduction
Uranium mining in Red Canyon in the White Canyon
district of south-eastern Utah (USA) ceased nearly four
decades ago. In the intervening years, the relatively highhumidity underground has produced a wide variety of
secondary phases in efﬂorescent crusts on tunnel walls.
Our interest in the secondary mineralization of the Blue
Lizard mine began about six years ago. Our investigations have now yielded 18 new mineral species fromthat mine, with several others still under study. We havemore recently expanded our efforts to several nearby
mines including the Green Lizard, Giveaway-Simplot
and Markey mines, which all have geology andmineralogy similar to the Blue Lizard mine. We haveprovided a brief synopsis of the history of uranium
mining in the area in our descriptive paper on
shumwayite, a new mineral found at both the Green
Lizard and Giveaway-Simplot mines (Kampf et al.,2017). Herein, we describe meitnerite, the fourth newmineral species from the Green Lizard mine.
https://doi.org/10.1127/ejm/2018/0030-2760

Meitnerite is named for Austrian-Swedish physicist Lise
Meitner (1878–1968) who, with Otto Hahn and his assistantFritz Straßmann, was responsible for the discovery of
nuclear ﬁssion (of uranium) in 1938 and explained thephysical process. In 1926 Meitner became Professor of
Physics at the University of Berlin, and in 1936 wasappointed head of the physics department at the Kaiser
Wilhelm Institute. Increased anti-Jewish activities by the
Nazi regime forced her to ﬂee to Sweden whose citizenshipshe adopted. Less well known is that in 1922, prior to thedetermination of nuclear ﬁssion with Hahn, Meitnerdiscovered the Auger effect a year prior to its independent
discovery by Pierre Auger who is often credited with thediscovery. In her later life, Meitner was recognized withmany awards and honors and, in 1997, chemical element
109 was named meitnerium; however, she was overlooked
in 1944 when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to
Otto Hahn alone for the discovery of nuclear ﬁssion.
The new mineral and its name were approved by theCommission on New Minerals, Nomenclature andClassiﬁcation of the International Mineralogical0935-1221/18/0030-2760 $ 3.60

© 2018 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, D-70176 Stuttgart
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1000

A.R. Kampf et al.

Fig. 1. Intergrowth of greenish-yellow meitnerite tablets (centre) on
and surrounded by yellowish-green beshtauite with gypsum onquartz. The ﬁeld of view is 0.8 mm across.

Association (IMA2017-065). The description is based on
one holotype specimen, which is deposited in thecollections of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
90007, USA, catalogue number 66623.

2. Occurrence
Meitnerite was discovered on a specimen collectedunderground in the Green Lizard Mine (37°340 37.1000 N
110°170 52.8000 W) in the White Canyon mining district,
San Juan County, Utah, USA. The Green Lizard mine isnear the head of Low Canyon on the east side of Red
Canyon, 2.1 km north of the Blue Lizard mine. The
geology is similar to that of the Blue Lizard mine
(Chenoweth, 1993; Kampf et al., 2015a). Mineralized
channels are in the Shinarump member of the Chinle
Formation (late Triassic). The Shinarump member
consists of medium- to coarse-grained sandstone, conglomeratic sandstone beds and thick siltstone lenses.
Accumulations of wood and other plant material in thechannels provided reducing environments that caused thedeposition of the ore minerals, which are found as
replacements of the organic material and as disseminationsin the enclosing sandstone. Since the mine closed,oxidation of primary ores in the humid undergroundenvironment has produced a variety of secondary
minerals, mainly sulfates, as efﬂorescent crusts on thesurfaces of mine walls. The NH4þ, essential to meitneriteand several other secondary phases (see below), presumably derives from the organic matter noted above.
Meitnerite is a very rare mineral, found on only one small
specimen in association with beshtauite (Pekov et al., 2014)
and gypsum on quartz. Besides meitnerite and beshtauite,other secondary NH4-bearing phases found in the Green
Lizard mine include ammoniozippeite (Kampf et al.,2018a), boussingaultite, greenlizardite (Kampf et al.,2018b). Other secondary minerals found in the Green

Fig. 2. Crystal drawing of meitnerite; clinographic projection in
non-standard orientation.

Lizard mine assemblage include arsenuranospathite, bobcookite (Kampf et al., 2015b), calcite, dickite, fermiite(Kampf et al., 2015c), johannite, magnesioleydetite (Kampf
et al., 2018c), metakahlerite, nováčekite-II, natrozippeite,
oppenheimerite (Kampf et al., 2015c), plásilite (Kampf
et al., 2015a), rozenite, shumwayite (Kampf et al., 2017),
strabmannite (Kampf et al., 2018c), sulfur, wetherillite(Kampf et al., 2015b) and other potentially new uranyl
sulfate minerals, currently under study.

3. Physical and optical properties
Meitnerite occurs as intergrowths of tabular crystals up to
about 80 mm in diameter and 30 mm thick (Fig. 1). Tablets
are ﬂattened on {0 1 1}; the forms {0 1 1} and {0 0 1} were
measured by reﬂected-light goniometry and the additional
forms {1 0 0}, {1 0 1} and {1 0 1} (Fig. 2) are likely based
upon crystal morphology observed during optical andsingle-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. No twinning wasobserved. Crystals are slightly greenish yellow andtransparent with a vitreous lustre and very pale yellow
streak. The mineral ﬂuoresces greenish white in 405 nm
light. Crystals are brittle with irregular fracture and aperfect {0 1 1} cleavage. The Mohs’ hardness is estimatedto be about 2. The density could not be measured becauseof the scarcity and small size of crystals, and theirsolubility in Clerici solution. The calculated density is
3.320 g·cm3, based on the empirical formula. At room
temperature, the mineral is slowly soluble in H2O and very
rapidly soluble in dilute HCl. Optically, meitnerite isbiaxial (–), with the indices of refraction a = 1.568(2),b = 1.589(2) and g = 1.607(2) measured in white light. The
2V measured directly on a spindle stage is 84(1)°; thecalculated 2V is 84.5°. The dispersion is r > v, moderate.
The optical orientation is X ∧ b = 26°, Y ∧ a = 15°, Z ∧ c =53°. The pleochroism is X nearly colourless, Z pale green

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Meitnerite, a new uranyl-sulfate mineral1001

Fig. 3. Raman spectrum of meitnerite recorded using a 785 nm diode laser.

yellow, Y light green yellow; X < Z < Y. The Gladstone‒
Dale compatibility, 1  (KP/KC), (Mandarino, 2007) is0.014 (superior) based upon the empirical formula and0.009 (superior) based on the ideal formula, in both cases
using k(UO3) = 0.118, as provided by Mandarino (1976).

4. Raman spectroscopy
Raman spectroscopy was conducted on a Horiba XploRA
PLUS. Pronounced ﬂuorescence was observed using a
532 nm diode laser; consequently, a 785 nm diode laser
was utilized. The spectrum, recorded from 1600 to
100 cm1, is shown in Fig. 3.
The rather broad band centred at approximately
1380 cm1 is related to the n2 (d) H–N–H bending
vibration of the NH4þ cations. The weak band at1165 cm1 and the strong bands at 1092 and 1072 cm1
are attributed to split triply degenerate n3 antisymmetricstretching vibrations of the SO4 tetrahedra. A sharp
intensive band at 1030 cm1 is assigned to the n1 symmetricstretching vibration of the SO4 tetrahedra. Avery weak bandat 898 cm1 may be assigned to the n3 antisymmetricstretching vibration of the uranyl ion, UO22þ. A very strong
band at 834 cm1 is assigned the n1 symmetric U–Ostretching vibration of the UO22þ. A very weak band at
746 cm1 can be attributed to the libration mode of the H2O
molecule. The inferred U–O bond-lengths (after
Bartlett &
Cooney 1989) for the uranyl ion of ∼1.78 A (from n1) and1.74 (from n3) are in line with those derived from the X-ray
study (this study). The value inferred from the n3, active in
Raman due to lowering of the factor group, should beconsidered an approximation only.
Weak Raman composite bands at 636 and 624 cm1 are
attributed to the n4 (d) triply degenerated antisymmetricstretching vibrations of SO4 tetrahedra. The Raman band at
456 with a shoulder at 443 cm1 is related to the split n2 (d)doubly degenerate bending vibrations of the SO4 group.

The band at 362 cm1 can be attributed to Na–O
stretching vibrations (cf. Kampf et al., 2015b,c; Plásil
et al., 2010, 2016; Volkovich et al., 1998), as the Na
content is probably variable among the studied crystals(see chemical analysis). It might also be related to thenRotational of the NH4þ (Heyns et al., 1987). There are twoother peaks, at 300 and 279 cm1, that can be connectedwith these modes. The two-component strong Raman bandat 210 and 189 cm1, and most probably also a band at
230 cm1, are related to the overlapping n2 (d) doubly
degenerate bending vibration of the UO22þ and U–Oeq–
ligand stretching modes (cf. Bullock & Parret, 1970;
Ohwada, 1976; Brittain et al., 1985; Plásil et al., 2010).
The weak band at 139 cm1 can be assigned to unclassiﬁed
lattice modes, most probably skeletal vibrations of thewhole sheets of polyhedra.

5. Chemical composition
Chemical analyses were performed at the University of
Utah on a Cameca SX-50 electron microprobe with four
wavelength dispersive spectrometers and using Probe for
EPMA software. Analytical conditions were 15 kV
accelerating voltage, 10 nA beam current and a beam
diameter of 5 mm. Counting times were 30 s on peak and
30 s on background for each element. Raw X-ray
intensities were corrected for matrix effects with awr(z) algorithm (Pouchou & Pichoir, 1991). A timedependent intensity correction was applied to Na; the N
intensity was time independent. The N concentration wascorrected for the partial overlap of the U N4-N6 emission
line on the N Ka peak.
Meitnerite was very challenging to analyze. It was notpossible to obtain a good polish and some beam damage
was noted. A total of ten analyses on four crystals wereattempted; however, only one analysis was deemed of
sufﬁcient quality to report. Because insufﬁcient material is

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1002

A.R. Kampf et al.

Table 1. Chemical composition (wt%) for meitnerite based on one
analysis.
Constituent

Analysis

Probe standard

Normalized(NH4)2O
Na2O
SO3
UO3
H2O*
Total

5.53
0.41
17.44
58.40

syn. Cr2N
albitecelestinesyn. UO2

6.07
0.45
19.13
64.06
10.29
100.00*available for a direct determination of H2O, it has been
calculated based upon the structure determination. The
results for the single good analysis are given in Table 1. In
spite of the chemical analytical problems, including thevery low total for the one reported analysis, the excellent
structure reﬁnement (see below), which allowed thelocation of all H atoms, leaves no doubt regarding theessential composition of the mineral. The superior
Gladstone-Dale compatibility provides further support.

Based on structure.


Table 2. Powder X-ray diffraction data (d in A) for meitnerite. Only calculated lines with I > 2 are listed.
Iobs

dobs

dcalc

Icalc

hkl

100

7.15

7.13316.92086.2632

5:8776
5:79394.99214.46474.37984.0805
 4.0022
3:8911
3:8516
3.78133.56663.52473.4604
 3.3392
3:26403:2605
3.1749
 3.0749
3:05293:03352.99112.96942.9598
 2.8723
2:8305
2:8178

2:7118
2:6983
 2.6716
2:6522
2:6396
8 2.6245< 2:5872
2:5775:
2:57442.54662.53182.47302.37778< 2:2918
2:2822:
2:2713
2.2522

100
2
21
18
18
14
11
17
12
3
3
11
7
17
5
12
19
15
3
15
14
3
14
11
2
4
2
5
9
5
4
4
4
6
2
3
2
4

011
010
100
101
110
111
111
011
002
102
021
112
121
022
112
020
210
201
122
112
111
013
102
121
012
122
023
221
103
212
212
201
120
221
123
132
032
113

3
3
5
5
3
2
3
2

031
210
212
033
230
114
024
3 11

30

6.36

36

5.85

21
15
14
15

5.038
4.483
4.390
4.085

10

3.873

8
19

3.818
3.569

18
20

3.451
3.340

17

3.257

12
21

3.185
3.075

13

3.040

10

3.001

7

2.872

11

2.826

7

2.706

11

2.647

8

2.576

2
5

2.473
2.377

7

2.286

Iobs

dobs

7

2.242

6

2.207

10

2.172

10

2.138

10

2.080942.051752
101.9844
1.9436
1.92746
11

1.9063
1.88997

1.848711

1.829310

1.786351.74247

1.72238

1.699513

1.6672

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dcalc
8
< 2:2477
2:2403:
 2:2329
2:2131
8 2:2101< 2:1802
2:1759:8 2:1644< 2:1445
2:1424:
2:13148 2.1025< 2:0877
2:0807:
8 2:0743< 2:0671
2:0463:
2:04021.98091.9311
1.92771.91141.9093
1.89281.8886
1.88481.86108 1.8560
1:8345>><
1:8334
1:8318>>:
1:82568 1.8064
1:7904>><
1:7874> 1:7833>:
 1:7787
1:7383
 1:7332
1:7223
1:7190
1:7094
8 1:6965
1:6696>><
1:6660
1:6629>>:
1:6563

Icalc

hkl

2
2
3
2
4
3
2
3
4
3
4
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
2
7
4
2
3
4
3
2
3
4
3
2
3
2
2
2
3
2
2

2 22
23 2
3 10
2 13
013
211
221
3 20
133
131
3 02
22 3
300
2 31
12 4
31 1
214
004
141
14 3
3 22
1 23
04 3
301
3 13
113
1 14
122
3 31
31 2
1 32
310
203
104
24 3
04 4
023
3 04

2
2
2
2
2
2
4
2
2

142
135
131
234
4 11
4 20
321
1 41
3 40

Meitnerite, a new uranyl-sulfate mineral

Table 3. Data collection and structure reﬁnement details formeitnerite.
Diffractometer
X-ray radiation/power
Temperature
Structural formulaSpace group
Unit-cell dimensions

Rigaku R-Axis Rapid II
MoKa (l = 0.71075 A)/50 kV, 40 mA
293(2) K(NH4)(UO2)(SO4)(OH)·2H2OP1

a = 6.7964(3) A a = 113.284(8)°b = 99.065(7)°b = 8.0738(3) Ac = 9.2997(7)A g = 105.289(7)°V
431.96(5) A3
Z2
Density (for above formula)3.361 g·cm3
Absorption coefﬁcient
19.052 mm1
F(000)
392
Crystal size
60  50  30 mm
u range
4.49 to 27.46°
Index ranges
8  h  8, 10  k  10, 12  l  12
Reﬂections collected/unique7547/1931; Rint = 0.024
Reﬂections with I > 2sI
1871
Completeness to u = 27.46° 98.0%
Reﬁnement method
Full-matrix least-squares on F2Parameter/restraints
136/17GoF
1.106
Final R indices [F > 4s(F)] R1 = 0.0132, wR2 = 0.0305
R indices (all data)
R1 = 0.0138, wR2 = 0.0307
Largest diff. peak/holeþ1.15/0.72e A3
Rint = S|Fo2  Fo2(mean)|/S[Fo2]. GoF = S = {S[w(Fo2  Fc2)2]/(n p)}1/2.
R1 = S||Fo|  |Fc||/S|Fo|. wR2 = {S[w(Fo2  Fc2)2]/S[w(Fo2)2]}1/2.
w = 1/[s2(Fo2) þ (aP)2 þ bP] where a is 0.0155, b is 0.1432 and P is
[2Fc2 þ Max(Fo2,0)]/3.

The empirical formula (calculated on the basis of 9
O apfu) is (NH4)1.01Na0.07(U0.97O2)(S1.03O4)[(OH)0.93
O0.07]·2H2O. The ideal formula is (NH4)(UO2)(SO4)(OH)·2H2O, which requires (NH4)2O 5.96, SO3 18.31,
UO3 65.43, and H2O 10.30, total 100 wt%.

6. X-ray crystallography and crystal-structure
determination
Powder X-ray diffraction data for meitnerite wereobtained on a Rigaku R-Axis Rapid II curved–imagingplate microdiffractometer utilising monochromatised
MoKa radiation. A Gandolﬁ-like motion on the f andv axes was used to randomize the sample. Observed dvalues and intensities were derived by proﬁle ﬁtting using
JADE 2010 software (Materials Data Inc.). Data are given
in Table 2. The unit-cell parameters reﬁned from thepowder data using JADE 2010 with whole-pattern
ﬁttingare a = 6.774(8), b = 8.031(7), c = 9.269(7) A, a = 113.22(4), b = 99.11(4), g = 105.37(4)° and V = 426.7(7) A3.
Single-crystal structure data were obtained on the same
instrument noted above. The Rigaku CrystalClear software package was used for processing of structure data,
including the application of an empirical multi-scanabsorption correction using ABSCOR (Higashi, 2001).
The structure was solved using SIR2011 (Burla et al.,2012). SHELXL-2013 (Sheldrick, 2015) was used for the1003

reﬁnement of the structure. Difference Fourier syntheses
located all H atom positions,which were then reﬁned with
soft restraints of 0.82(3) A on the O–H distances and 1.30
(3) A on the H–H distances and with the Ueq of each H set
to 1.2 times that of the donor O atom. Data collection andreﬁnement details are given in Table 3, atom coordinatesand displacement parameters in Table 4, selected bonddistances in Table 5 and a bond valence analysis in Table 6.
The Crystallography Information File (CIF), including
reﬂection data, is available online as Supplementary
Material linked to this article on the GSW website of thejournal, https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/eurjmin.

7. Discussion of the structure
The U sites in the structure of meitnerite are surrounded byseven O atoms forming a squat UO7 pentagonal
bipyramid. This is the most typical coordination for
U6þ, particularly in uranyl sulfates, where the two shortapical bonds of the bipyramid constitute the UO2 uranylgroup. In the structure of meitnerite, pairs of pentagonal
bipyramids share a common edge, forming dimers. The
dimers are linked by sharing corners with SO4 groups,
yielding a [(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2]2 sheet parallel to{0 1 1} (Fig. 4). This sheet is based on the phosphuranyliteanion topology (Burns, 2005), with a ring symbol 61524232(Krivovichev & Burns, 2007). The sheets in johannite,
Cu(UO2)2(OH)2(SO4)2·8H2O (Mereiter, 1982), deliensite,
Fe(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2·7H2O (Plásil et al., 2012), plásilite,
Na(UO2)(SO4)(OH)·2H2O (Kampf et al., 2015a) andgreenlizardite,(NH4)Na(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2·4H2O(Kampf et al., 2018b), are topologically identical to thatin meitnerite; however, these sheets are geometricalisomers, differing in the orientation of the SO4 groups(Fig. 5). Note that the sheets in meitnerite and johannite
are the same geometrical isomer, differing in relatively
minor canting of the tetrahedra.
The interlayer region in the meitnerite structure contains
an NH4þ group and two H2O groups (OW8 and OW9). The
NH4þ coordinates to eight O sites; six are O atoms inadjacent uranyl-sulfate sheets and two are the interlayer H2O
groups. The NH4–O bonds and hydrogen bonding serve tolink the uranyl-sulfate sheets to one another (Fig. 6). The
aforementioned minerals with [(UO2)2(SO4)2(OH)2]2
sheets differ in their interlayer constituents and the ways
in which these constituents link the sheets together.
Acknowledgements: The paper beneﬁted from comments
by Oleg Siidra and Igor Pekov. This study was funded by
the John Jago Trelawney Endowment to the Mineral
Sciences Department of the Natural History Museum of
Los Angeles County. JP acknowledges support from the
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Nationalsustainability programme I of Czech Republic (Project
No. LO1603). BPN thanks the Northern California
Mineralogical Association for partial support for electron
microprobe analyses of new minerals from the Colorado
Plateau.

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A.R. Kampf et al.



Table 4. Atom coordinates and displacement parameters (A2) for meitnerite.
Atom

x

U
S
O1
O2
O3
O4
O5
O6
OH7
H7
OW8
HW8a
HW8b
OW9
HW9a
HW9b
N
HNa
HNb
HNc
HNd

0.38491(2)0.79886(10)0.7477(4)0.0232(3)0.6644(3)0.2374(3)0.4513(4)0.3238(4)0.3098(3)0.241(6)0.9331(4)0.962(6)1.033(6)1.1019(5)1.170(6)0.998(5)0.6508(5)0.612(6)0.737(5)0.721(5)0.541(4)

U
S
O1
O2
O3
O4
O5
O6
OH7
OW8
OW9
N

y

z

0.29830(2)0.16444(9)0.2395(3)0.2696(3)0.1890(3)0.0438(3)0.4721(3)0.1259(3)0.5094(3)0.570(5)0.2701(4)0.286(6)0.325(6)0.3358(4)0.441(4)0.291(6)0.1181(5)0.156(5)0.006(3)0.189(5)0.126(5)Ueq0.27561(2)0.08914(8)0.0256(3)0.1904(3)0.2006(2)0.0025(2)0.2025(3)0.3512(3)0.4991(3)0.479(5)0.5354(3)0.628(3)0.519(5)0.8494(3)0.917(5)0.869(5)0.2985(4)0.372(4)0.364(4)0.249(4)0.234(4)

U11

U22

U33

0.01115(6)0.0103(3)0.0304(12)0.0108(10)0.0183(10)0.0201(10)0.0272(12)0.0347(13)0.0164(10)0.0355(14)0.0420(15)0.0397(18)0.01165(6)0.0138(3)0.0259(12)0.0272(12)0.0272(11)0.0154(10)0.0204(11)0.0261(12)0.0257(11)0.0399(15)0.0329(14)0.0282(16)0.01072(6)0.0128(3)0.0249(12)0.0300(12)0.0174(10)0.0149(10)0.0293(12)0.0248(12)0.0164(10)0.0291(13)0.0316(14)0.0440(19)0.01300(4)0.01497(13)0.0273(5)0.0301(5)0.0216(4)0.0200(4)0.0259(5)0.0273(5)0.0230(5)0.028
0.0345(6)
0.041
0.041
0.0366(6)
0.044
0.044
0.0365(7)
0.044
0.044
0.044
0.044
U23

0.00051(4)0.0006(3)0.0117(10)0.0045(10)0.0048(9)0.0009(8)0.0124(10)0.0135(10)0.0021(9)0.0159(12)0.0139(11)0.0194(15)

U13

U12

0.00251(4)0.0023(2)0.0071(9)0.0005(9)0.0087(8)0.0022(8)0.0069(10)0.0142(10)0.0003(8)0.0102(11)0.0125(12)0.0096(15)0.00357(4)0.0035(2)0.0096(10)0.0051(9)0.0121(9)0.0060(8)0.0067(9)0.0106(10)0.0128(9)0.0145(12)0.0088(12)0.0129(14)Table 5. Selected bond distances (A) and angles (°) for meitnerite.
N–OW9
N–OW8
N–O5
N–O3
N–O1
N–O4
N–O6
N–O6
〈N–Oi

2.860(4)2.897(4)2.916(4)2.945(4)3.034(4)3.200(4)3.261(4)3.308(4)3.053

Hydrogen bonds
D–H…A
OH7–H7…OW8OW8–HW8a…OW9OW8–HW8b…OH7
OW9–HW9a…O1
OW9–HW9b…O1

U–O5
U–O6
U–OH7
U–OH7
U–O2
U–O3
U–O4
〈U–OUri〈U–OeqiD–H
0.81(2)0.80(2)0.78(2)0.78(2)0.79(2)H…A
2.00(3)
1.96(3)2.15(3)2.23(3)2.12(3)1.775(2)1.779(2)2.337(2)2.341(2)2.380(2)2.385(2)2.410(2)
1.777
2.371

S–O1
S–O2
S–O3
S–O4
〈S–Oi

D…A
2.799(4)2.743(4)2.929(4)2.945(4)2.891(4)Downloaded from https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/eurjmin/article-pdf/30/5/999/4541274/ejm_30_5_0999_1006_kampf_2760_online.pdf
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〈D–H–A
171(4)
166(4)
173(5)
152(4)
166(4)

1.460(2)1.471(2)1.477(2)1.478(2)1.472

Meitnerite, a new uranyl-sulfate mineral

1005

Table 6. Bond-valence analysis for meitnerite. Values are expressed in valence units.*
NH4

U

S

Hydrogen bonds
Accepted

O1
O2
O3
O4
O5
O6
OH7
OW8
OW9
S
*

0.11
0.14
0.07
0.15
0.06, 0.05
0.16
0.18
0.92

0.49
0.49
0.46
1.77
1.76
0.54, 0.54
6.05

1.55
1.50
1.48
1.48

Donated0.14, 0.16

0.15
0.18
0.21

S

0.18
0.21, 0.15
0.14, 0.16

1.96
1.99
2.11
2.01
1.92
1.87
1.05
0.02
0.09

6.01

NH4þ–O bond valence parameters from Garcia-Rodriguez et al. (2000). U6þ–O and S6þ–O bond valence parameters are from Gagné &Hawthorne (2015). Hydrogen-bond strengths based on O–O bond lengths from Ferraris & Ivaldi (1988).

Fig. 4. The uranyl-sulfate sheet in the structure of meitnerite viewed
on {0 1 1} with [1 0 0] vertical. The O sites in the sheet are
numbered.

Fig. 6. The structure of meitnerite viewed down a. The O sites in theinterlayer region are numbered. O–H bonds are shown as sticks;
hydrogen bonds are shown as thin black lines. Note that bonds
between NH4 H atoms and nearest O atoms are also shown as thinblack lines, even though NH4 group is treated as a spherical atom inTables 5 and 6. The unit-cell outline is shown by dashed lines.

Fig. 5. The uranyl-sulfate sheets in the structures of greenlizardite, plásilite, deliensite, johannite and meitnerite.

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1006

A.R. Kampf et al.

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Received 5 January 2018
Modiﬁed version received 2 February 2018
Accepted 2 February 2018

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