Ternary and higher gem-like compounds
Look out for rock forming minerals here.
Note that with mechanosynthesis it is possible to control of solid solutions series.
By "normal" thermodynamic means (that is melting and recrystallisation) atoms that are chemically similar can randomly swap places.
Mechanosynthesis (which does not involve heating the material) can place those atoms in non random checkerboard-patterns where they stay if the material is kept cold (here cold can mean room temperature and more). See "pseudo phase diagrams" and "neo-polymorphs" for more information.
Contents
most common metal rich core mantle transition zone minerals
In the earths mantle and crust silicon and oxygen are the most abundant elements. On the borther to earths outer core this changes to iron and nickle. Down there the most abundant minearls are made from mixture of those elements. As a sidenote: In nature when iron rich metal is available in stochiometric excess heterogenous pallasite is formed. This rock looks really beautiful and can be found in some meteroids - recommendation to check it out.
- mixing series of olivine (wikipedia) / peridot (wikipedia) - (Mg,Fe)2SiO4
- with high pressure modifications: wadseylite (wikipedia) and ringwoodite (wikipedia)
Of interest as diamondoid materials may be the pure end members of the mixing series:
- Fayalite Fe2SiO4
- Forsterite Mg2SiO4
- Tephroite Mn2SiO4 (less interesting since Mn is more scarce)
- Titanium Silicate TiSiO4
related minerals:
- Ca(Mg,Fe)SiO4 - wikipedia: magnesium and iron monticellite
- CaTiSiO5 - wikipedia: Titanite or Sphene (optical dispersion exceeding diamond; birefringent)
- Mn3Al2(SiO4)3 - wikipedia: spessartine - (with rather rare Manganese)
- FeTiO3 - wikipedia: Ilmenite
- Al2SiO5 andalusite Wikipedia:Andalusite Mohs 6.5-7.5 and kyanite Wikipedia:Kyanite Mohs 4.5-5 & 6.5-7
The spinell group (wikipedia)
These oxide minerals are devoid of the ubiquitously present silicon.
aluminum spinells
- MgAl2O4 - wikipedia: spinell
- FeAl2O4 - wikipedia: hercynite
- (Mg,Fe)Al2O4 - wikipedia: caylonite - mixing series inbetween the former two
- ZnAl2O4 - wikipedia: gahnite
- BeAl2O4 - wikipedia: crysoberyll
- MnAl2O4 - wikipedia: galaxite - (with rather rare manganese) - image
iron spinells
- MgFe2O4 - wikipedia: magnesioferrite
- TiFe2O4 - wikipedia: ulvöspinel
- ZnFe2O4 - wikipedia: franklinite
- NiFe2O4 - wikipedia: trevorite
- MnFe2O4 - wikipedia: jacobsite - (with rather rare manganese)
related compound:
- ZnFe3O4 - wikipedia: zinc ferrite - synthetic zinc ferrites
Pseudobrookite group - common in titanium rich lunar soil
From wikipedia page Armacolite: "End members are armalcolite ((Mg,Fe)Ti2O5), pseudobrookite (Fe2TiO5), ferropseudobrookite (FeTi2O5) and karrooite (MgTiO5). They are isostructural and all have orthorhombic crystal structure and occur in lunar and terrestrial rocks."
- Fe2TiO5 wikipedia: Pseudobrookite (Mohs 6)
Related compounds:
- Fe2Ti3O9 Pseudorutil (de) (Mohs 3)
- (Fe,Ca)SiO3 Pyroxferroite (Mohs 4.5-5.5)
Alkali and earth alkali compounds
They tend to be rather soluble in binary compounds (you won't find many there) in ternary and higher compounds they tend to form less water soluble minerals. See: compounds with s-block metals
- Ca(OH)2 calcium hydroxide aka slaked lime (rather water soluble)
- CaCO3 calcium carbonate (very slightly soluble)
- MgCO3 magnesium carbonate aka magnesite (slightly soluble)
- Mg3B7O13Cl boracite (very slightly water soluble)
Other
- Various silicates [1]
Another interesting tertiary material falling in this scheme would be CSiO 4
a solid intermediate material between CO2(gas) SiO2(solid quartz): [2]
(A prototypical pseudo phase diagram.)
- AlPO4 berlinite Wikipedia:Berlinite Mohs 6.5 (similar to quartz)
- MnCO3 rhodochrosite [3] Mohs 3.5-4
- MnSiO3 rhodonite [4] Mohs 5.5-6.5
- Na4Al3Si9O24Cl marialite Mohs 5.5-6 (scapolite end member)
- Ca4Al6Si6O24CO3 meionite Mohs 5-6 (scapolite end member)
- Cu2FeSnS4 stannite [5] (contains unabundant copper and tin) Mohs 4
- CuFeS2 calcopyrite [6] Mohs 3.5 (unabundant copper | metallic gold)