Powder data for synthetic analogue of a mineral nickelphosphide

Abstract

All known occurrences of nickelphosphide (Ni,Fe)₃P—a mineral encountered mainly in meteoritic irons—represent relatively small grains, which prevents acquiring powder data of a reasonable quality. Synthetic analogues of this mineral, corresponding chemically to that found in the meteorite Vicenice, have been synthesized. Powder data collected using a standard laboratory diffractometer in the Bragg–Brentano geometry are presented. The space group of nickelphosphide is identical to that of schreibersite (Fe,Ni,Co)₃P and synthetic Ni₃P—I4. The unit-cell dimensions refined from the powder data are a=9.0168(1) Å, c=4.4501(1) Å, and V=361.80(1) ų, with Z=8.