Chiral Minerals

David Avnir*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

Hundreds of minerals are chiral, that is, they appear in nature in two forms—left-handed and right-handed. Yet except for quartz, this key structural property has remained, by and large, in shadow in the world of minerals in research, in museum displays and for collectors. This review is devoted to providing a full picture of chiral minerals in nature. It starts with a general outline of the crystallographic background needed for the characterization of chiral minerals, continues with a detailed description of the many chemical and physical processes leading to their formation and follows with their chemical reactivities and transformations, with their physical properties and with the ways to analyze and identify them. Many tables with listings of various types of chiral minerals are provided. The “missing-glove” situation, in which the recognition that a chiral mineral appears in nature in two distinctly forms is, by and large, missing, is described, and it is hoped that this review will spark interest in this aspect of nature’s crystals.

Original languageEnglish
Article number995
JournalMinerals
Volume14
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the author.

Keywords

  • chirality
  • enantiomorphs
  • formation
  • minerals
  • properties
  • space groups

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