Spinel group
The spinels are any of a class of minerals of general formulation AB2X4 which crystallise in the cubic (isometric) crystal system, with the X anions arranged in a cubic close-packed lattice and the cations A and B occupying some or all of the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the lattice. Although the charges of A and B in the prototypical spinel structure are +2 and +3, respectively (A2+B3+2X2−4), other combinations incorporating divalent, trivalent, or tetravalent cations, including magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, aluminium, chromium, titanium, and silicon, are also possible. The anion is normally oxygen; when other chalcogenides constitute the anion sublattice the structure is referred to as a thiospinel. A and B can also be the same metal with different valences, as is the case with magnetite, Fe3O4, which is the most abundant member of the spinel group. Spinels are grouped in series by the B cation. The group is named for spinel (MgAl2O4), which was once known as "spinel ruby".
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