The Raman spectra of aragonite, strontianite and witherite

Abstract

The Raman spectra of the three crystals are recorded using the λ 2536·5 radiation of mercury and eleven new lines of low intensity are reported. These include the appearance in the cases of SrCO₃ and BaCO₃ of the line corresponding to the Raman-inactive mode of the free-ion, this line being of progressively diminishing intensity in the three cases owing to the structures progressively approaching that of hexagonal symmetry. The similarities and the differences observed in the three spectra are also correlated with the details of the crystal structures.