H-BONDING IN VESUVIANITE, A COMPLEX ORTHO-DISILICATE

Vesuvianite is an ortho-disilicate mineral of a very complex structure . The authors have observed for the first time that the OH-stretching region of the infrared spectra of vesuvianites reflects well their str uctural ordering. The state of ordering of the vesuvianite structure c orrelates well with H-bond lengths, which are distinctly shorter in or dered varieties of this mineral, while in disordered ones they are lon ger and more differentiated, which manifests itself in the broadening of the appropriate absorption band.