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EntityQ420924· pop 19· linked from 43 articles

Also known as IMA17-H

Maghemite (Fe2O3, γ-Fe2O3) is a member of the family of iron oxides. It has the same formula as hematite, but the same spinel ferrite structure as magnetite () and is also ferrimagnetic. It is sometimes spelled as "maghaemite".

Key facts

Mineral.name
Maghemite
Mineral.category
Oxide minerals
Mineral.image
Maghemite - Mineralogisches Museum Bonn.jpg
Mineral.imagesize
260px
Mineral.formula
γ-Fe2O3
Mineral.IMAsymbol
Mgh
Mineral.strunz
4.BB.15
Mineral.system
Cubic with a tetragonal supercell
Mineral.class
Gyroidal (432) (same H-M symbol)
Mineral.symmetry
P4132, P4332
Mineral.unit cell
a = 8.33 Å; Z = 8 or a = 8.35 Å c = 24.99 Å; Z = 8 for tetragonal supercell
Mineral.color
Brown, bluish black; brown to yellow in transmitted light; white to bluish gray in reflected light.
Mineral.habit
Rarely as minute octahedral crystals, or acicular overgrowths; commonly as coatings on or replacements of magnetite; massive.
Mineral.cleavage
None
Mineral.fracture
Subconchoidal
Mineral.mohs
5
Mineral.luster
Dull
Mineral.streak
Brown

via Wikipedia infobox

~3 min read

Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Occurrence
  • Cation distribution
  • Electronic structure
  • Applications
  • As pollutant
  • References

Maghemite (Fe2O3, γ-Fe2O3) is a member of the family of iron oxides. It has the same formula as hematite, but the same spinel ferrite structure as magnetite () and is also ferrimagnetic. It is sometimes spelled as "maghaemite".

Maghemite can be considered as an Fe(II)-deficient magnetite with formula \left(\ce{Fe^{III}8}\right)_A\left[\ce{Fe^{III}_{40/3}\square_{8/3}}\right]_B\ce{O32} where \square represents a vacancy, A indicates tetrahedral and B octahedral positioning.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “maghemite” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.