Rietveld structure refinement of the stilbite crystals from Deccan traps (India) using X-ray powder diffraction data

Abstract

The crystal structure of a spectacular sample of stilbite from Pune region located in the Deccan Traps (western India) has been refined using X-Ray powder diffraction data and the Rietveld method. The Rietveld refinement was carried out using the computer program Diffracplus TOPAS 4.1. The pseudo-Voigt (pV) profile function was used for the fit of the peaks. The Rietveld refinement of the analyzed sample in the space group C2/m (No.12): a=13.606 Å, b=18.260 Å, c=11.253 Å, β=127.432°, Z=8, confirm the basic stilbite structure. The chemical composition of the stilbite crystals from Pune region (India) was determined by EDX analysis. The paper presents a new set of the unit cell parameters and fractional coordinates that define the stilbite crystal structure. The quality of the sample analyzed was pristine, the sample being collected from an association of apophyllite-stilbite crystals of centimetric dimensions.