Sea-green, violet, purple, blue, pink, yellow, brown, white, colorless, may be zoned
Crystal habit
Massive to prismatic crystalline
Twinning
Contact twins rare
Cleavage
Indistinct
Fracture
Brittle to conchoidal
Mohs scale hardness
5
Luster
Vitreous, resinous to dull
Streak
White
Diaphaneity
Transparent to opaque
Specific gravity
3.1 to 3.2
Optical properties
Uniaxial (−)
Refractive index
nω = 1.631 – 1.650 nε = 1.633 – 1.646
Birefringence
δ = 0.002
Ultraviolet fluorescence
Fluorescent and phosphorescent
References
[2][3][4]
Fluorapatite, often with the alternate spelling of fluoroapatite, is a phosphate mineral with the formula Ca5(PO4)3F (calcium fluorophosphate). Fluorapatite is a hard crystalline solid. Although samples can have various color (green, brown, blue, yellow, violet, or colorless), the pure mineral is colorless, as expected for a material lacking transition metals. Along with hydroxylapatite, it can be a component of tooth enamel, but for industrial use both minerals are mined in the form of phosphate rock, whose usual mineral composition is primarily fluorapatite but often with significant amounts of the other.[5]
Fluorapatite crystallizes in a hexagonal crystal system. It is often combined as a solid solution with hydroxylapatite (Ca5(PO4)3OH or Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) in biological matrices. Chlorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3Cl) is another related structure.[5] Industrially, the mineral is an important source of both phosphoric and hydrofluoric acids.
Fluorapatite as a mineral is the most common phosphate mineral. It occurs widely as an accessory mineral in igneous rocks and in calcium rich metamorphic rocks. It commonly occurs as a detrital or diagenic mineral in sedimentary rocks and is an essential component of phosphorite ore deposits. It occurs as a residual mineral in lateritic soils.[2]
Fluorapatite is found in the teeth of sharks and other fishes in varying concentrations. It is also present in human teeth that have been exposed to fluoride ions, for example, through water fluoridation or by using fluoride-containing toothpaste. The presence of fluorapatite helps prevent tooth decay or dental caries.[6] Fluoroapatite has a mild bacteriostatic property as well, which helps decrease the proliferation of Streptococcus mutans, the predominant bacterium related to dental caries.[7]
^ ab"Fluorapatite" Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine. Handbook of Mineralogy.
^Apatite-(CaF) Mineral Data Archived 2016-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. webmineral.com.
^"Fluorapatite". mindat.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-08. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
^ abKlein, Cornelis; Hurlbut, Cornelius Searle; Dana, James Dwight (1999), Manual of Mineralogy (21 ed.), Wiley, ISBN 0-471-31266-5
^"How does fluoride protect my teeth and make them strong?". UCSB Science Line. Regents of the University of California. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
^Trushkowsky, Richard. "The science of caries diagnosis" Archived 2016-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. Dentistry IQ.
Fluorapatite, often with the alternate spelling of fluoroapatite, is a phosphate mineral with the formula Ca5(PO4)3F (calcium fluorophosphate). Fluorapatite...
Apatite is a group of phosphate minerals, usually hydroxyapatite, fluorapatite and chlorapatite, with high concentrations of OH−, F− and Cl− ion, respectively...
group. The OH− ion can be replaced by fluoride or chloride, producing fluorapatite or chlorapatite. It crystallizes in the hexagonal crystal system. Pure...
Francolite is a carbonate rich variety of the mineral fluorapatite and is present in most sedimentary phosphorites. It has a variable chemical composition...
fluorapatite + 5 H 2 SO 4 + 10 H 2 O ⟶ 5 CaSO 4 ⋅ 2 H 2 O calcium sulfate dihydrate + HF + 3 H 3 PO 4 {\displaystyle {\underset {\text{fluorapatite}}{{\ce...
exist that are industrially relevant sources of fluorine: fluorite, fluorapatite, and cryolite. Fluorite (CaF2), also called fluorspar, is the main source...
of sedimentary rocks is less than 0.2%. The phosphate is present as fluorapatite Ca5(PO4)3F typically in cryptocrystalline masses (grain sizes < 1 μm)...
ions are present in saliva, fluorapatite, Ca5(PO4)3F, also forms. Ca5(PO4)3+(aq) + F−(aq) → Ca5(PO4)3F(s) Fluorapatite resists attacks by acids better...
health. The fluoride enhances the strength of teeth by the formation of fluorapatite, a naturally occurring component of tooth enamel. Although sodium fluoride...
fluorite. Most fluorine exists as fluoride-containing minerals. Fluorite, fluorapatite and cryolite are the most industrially significant. Fluorite (CaF 2)...
and more acid-resistant fluorapatite, rather than the natural hydroxyapatite. Both materials are made of calcium. In fluorapatite, fluoride takes the place...
group is a group of phosphates in the apatite supergroup, related to fluorapatite Members of the belovite group include: Belovite Belovite-(Ce): NaCeSr3(PO4)3F...
PMID 15060208. Leroy N, Bres E (2001). "Structure and substitutions in fluorapatite". European Cells and Materials. 2: 36–48. doi:10.22203/eCM.v002a05. PMID 14562256...
the partial conversion of this mineral to the still harder material fluorapatite: Ca 5(PO 4) 3OH + F− → Ca 5(PO 4) 3F + OH− In medicine, phosphate deficiency...
range of 200 to 580°C. It is can be found in association with zircon, fluorapatite, ferro-ferri-katophrite, ulvöspinel, nepheline, chalcopyrite, phyrrotite...
they were able to stimulate mineralization of an enamel-like layer of fluorapatite in vivo. Filling material that is compatible with pulp tissue has been...
process, a phosphate-containing mineral such as calcium hydroxyapatite and fluorapatite are treated with sulfuric acid. Ca5(PO4)3OH + 5 H2SO4 → 3 H3PO4 + 5 CaSO4...
wet process production, resulting from the attack of HF (derived from fluorapatite protonolysis) on silicates, which are present as impurities in the phosphate...
damage to the teeth, causing the mineral fluorapatite to be incorporated into damaged tooth enamel. Fluorapatite is not a natural component of human teeth...
removing impurities (such as Sulfur or Phosphorus (e.g. apatite or fluorapatite)) in the form of slag and keeps emissions of CO2 low. For example, the...
phosphate is the apatite group; common species within this group are fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F), chlorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3Cl) and hydroxylapatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH))...
fluoride-containing minerals that also contain silicates. Specifically, apatite and fluorapatite are treated with sulfuric acid to give phosphoric acid, a precursor to...
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