Minerals with antiperovskite structure: a review

Antiperovskites or inverse perovskites are inorganic compounds with a perovskite structure but with cations replaced by anions and vice versa. It is shown that there exists a number of minerals whose structures can be regarded as based upon antiperovskite units composed of face-and corner-sharing octahedra. The structures of sulphohalite, galeite, schairerite, kogarkoite, nacaphite, arctite, polyphite, hatrurite and related compounds are considered. The 3C, 2H, 5H, 7H, 9R and 15R antiperovskite polytypes are described. In some cases, antiperovskite modules are intercalated with intermediate ions and complexes.