Crystallization Studies of Lunar Igneous Rocks: Crystal Structure of Synthetic Armalcolite

Crystals of armalcolite, Mg(0.5)Fe(0.5)Ti(2)O(5), up to several millimeters in length have been grown from a glass initially having the composition of lunar rock 10017. A single-crystal x-ray study has confirmed that the crystals are isomorphous with pseudobrookite and has shown that the cations are strongly ordered, with the Ti(4+) ions occupying the 8f sites and the Fe(2+) and Mg(2+) ions randomly distributed over the 4c sites. An examination of karrooite, MgTi(2)O(5), has revealed a similar distribution of Mg(2+) and Ti(4+) ions. A reexamination of earlier x-ray and Mössbauer data for pseudobrookite, Fe(2)TiO(5), has shown that it is more consistent with this type of ordering than with the inverse structure that has been generally assumed.