fluorapatite
Sign in to saveFluorapatite, often with the alternate spelling of fluoroapatite, is a phosphate mineral with the formula Ca5(PO4)3F (calcium fluorophosphate). Fluorapatite is a hard crystalline solid. Although samples can have various colors (green, brown, blue, yellow, violet, or colorless), the pure mineral is colorless, as expected for a material lacking transition metals. Along with hydroxylapatite, it can be a component of tooth enamel, especially in individuals who use fluoridated toothpaste, but for industrial use both minerals are mined in the form of phosphate rock, whose usual mineral composition i
Key facts
- Mineral.name
- Fluorapatite
- Mineral.category
- Phosphate mineral Apatite group
- Mineral.image
- Fluorapatite-Muscovite-tuc8-098a.jpg
- Mineral.imagesize
- 260px
- Mineral.caption
- Fluorapatite (pink) on top of muscovite (green)
- Mineral.formula
- Ca5(PO4)3F
- Mineral.IMAsymbol
- Fap
- Mineral.strunz
- 8.BN.05
- Mineral.color
- Sea-green, violet, purple, blue, pink, yellow, brown, white, colorless, may be zoned
- Mineral.habit
- Massive to prismatic crystalline
- Mineral.system
- Hexagonal
- Mineral.class
- Dipyramidal (6/m) H-M symbol: (6/m)
- Mineral.symmetry
- P63/m
- Mineral.twinning
- Contact twins rare
- Mineral.cleavage
- Indistinct
- Mineral.fracture
- Brittle to conchoidal
- Mineral.mohs
- 5
- Mineral.luster
- Vitreous, resinous to dull
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
3 sectionsContents
- Synthesis
- Applications
- References
Fluorapatite, often with the alternate spelling of fluoroapatite, is a phosphate mineral with the formula Ca5(PO4)3F (calcium fluorophosphate). Fluorapatite is a hard crystalline solid. Although samples can have various colors (green, brown, blue, yellow, violet, or colorless), the pure mineral is colorless, as expected for a material lacking transition metals. Along with hydroxylapatite, it can be a component of tooth enamel, especially in individuals who use fluoridated toothpaste, but for industrial use both minerals are mined in the form of phosphate rock, whose usual mineral composition is primarily fluorapatite but often with significant amounts of the other.
Fluorapatite crystallizes in a hexagonal crystal system. It is often combined as a solid solution with hydroxylapatite (Ca5(PO4)3OH or Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) in biological matrices. Chlorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3Cl) is another related structure. Industrially, the mineral is an important source of both phosphoric and hydrofluoric acids.