Mineral phase
IMA name
Serpentines group
Type
Class
silicate mineral
Compound type
phyllosilicate
Comments
Other Sepentine subgroup: Amesite - exception: Kellyte has uniaxial refringence
Chemical composition
Formula
$D_{2-3}.(Si,Al,Fe^{3+})_2O_5(OH)_4 \ \ \ \ \ $ where $D = Fe^{2+}, Fe^{3+}, Mn^{2+}, Mg, Al, Zn, Ni,$ and/or $Li$
Chemical formula
(Fe2+,Fe3+,Mn2+,Mg,Al,Zn,Ni,Li)2-3(Si,Al,Fe3+)2O5(OH)4
Elemental formula
(Fe2+)0-3 (Fe3+)0-2 (Mn2+)0-3 (Mg)0-3 (Al)0-3 (Zn)0-3 (Ni)0-3 (Li)0-1 (Si)1-2 O9 H4
Isotope mixture type
terrestrial abundance
  Formula Name Family Number min-max Isotope mole fraction State Relevance
$Fe^{2+}$ Iron(II) cation element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Fe^{3+}$ Iron(III) cation element 0 - 2 constituent element main
$Mn^{2+}$ Manganese(II) cation element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Mg$ Magnesium element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Al$ Aluminium element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Zn$ Zinc element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Ni$ Nickel element 0 - 3 constituent element main
$Li$ Lithium element 0 - 1 constituent element main
$Si$ Silicon element 1 - 2 constituent element main
$O$ Oxygen element 9 constituent element main
$H$ Hydrogen element 4 constituent element main
Composition comments
Common impurities: Cr, Ti, Ca, Na, K, F, H2O
Chemical functions
  Function Number
$(OH)^-$ 4
Chemical bonds
  Bond Number
$O^--H$ 1
Oxides
Formula $FeO$ $Fe_{2}O_{3}$ $MnO$ $MgO$ $Al_{2}O_{3}$ $ZnO$ $NiO$ $Li_{2}O$ $SiO_{2}$ $H_{2}O$
Mass fraction (%)

Strunz

Class
silicates (09)
Division
phyllosilicate (09.E)
Family
with kaolinite layers composed of tetrahedral and octahedral nets (09.ED)
Code
09.ED.15

Dana

Major class
silicates (VIII)
Class
phyllosilicate sheets of six-membered rings (71)
Type
with 1:1 layers (71.01)
Group
Serpentine group (71.01.02)
End-members
Phase type
crystalline
Crystal system
various
Crystal class
various
Crystal class symbol
various
Crystal spacegroup
various
Molar mass
255.91 - 399.50 $g/mol$
Density
2.5 - 3.84 $g/cm^3$
State NTP
solid
Refringence type
biaxial
Refringence sign
positive or negative
Color
various
Diaphaneity
transparent to opaque
Luster
various
Links