Kësterite is a sulfide mineral with a chemical formula of . In its lattice structure,

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

and

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

atoms share the same lattice sites. Kesterite is the Zn-rich variety whereas the Zn-poor form is called ferrokesterite or

stannite Stannite is a mineral, a sulfide of copper, iron, and tin, in the category of thiostannates. Background The chemical formula Cu2 Fe Sn S4. Zinc commonly occurs with the iron and trace germanium may be present. Stannite is used as an ore of tin, ...

. Owing to their similarity, kesterite is sometimes called isostannite. The synthetic form of kesterite is abbreviated as

CZTS Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) is a quaternary semiconducting compound which has received increasing interest since the late 2000s for applications in Thin-film solar cell, thin film solar cells. The class of related materials includes other I2-II ...

(from copper zinc tin sulfide). The name kesterite is sometimes extended to include this synthetic material and also

CZTSe Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) is a quaternary semiconducting compound which has received increasing interest since the late 2000s for applications in thin film solar cells. The class of related materials includes other I2-II-IV-VI4 such as copper ...

, which contains selenium instead of sulfur.

Occurrence

Kesterite was first described in 1958 in regard to an occurrence in the Kester deposit (and the associated locality) in

Ynnakh Mountain Ynnakh Mountain, also known as Arga Ynnakh Khaya (russian: Арга Ыннах Хая), Gora Ulakhan Ynnakh (russian: Гора Улахан Ыннах) and as Mother Mountain (russian: Мать-Гора), is a mountain in Verkhoyansky District, Y ...

, Yana basin,

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

, Russia, where it was discovered. It is usually found in quartz-sulfide hydrothermal veins associated with tin ore deposits. Associated minerals include

arsenopyrite Arsenopyrite ( IMA symbol: Apy) is an iron arsenic sulfide (FeAsS). It is a hard ( Mohs 5.5-6) metallic, opaque, steel grey to silver white mineral with a relatively high specific gravity of 6.1. When dissolved in nitric acid, it releases eleme ...

, stannoidite, chalcopyrite,

chalcocite Chalcocite (), copper(I) sulfide (Cu2S), is an important copper ore mineral. It is opaque and dark gray to black, with a metallic luster. It has a hardness of 2.5–3 on the Mohs scale. It is a sulfide with a monoclinic crystal system. The ...

sphalerite Sphalerite (sometimes spelled sphaelerite) is a sulfide mineral with the chemical formula . It is the most important ore of zinc. Sphalerite is found in a variety of deposit types, but it is primarily in Sedimentary exhalative deposits, sedimen ...

and tennantite. Stannite and kesterite occur together in the Ivigtut cryolite deposit of South

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

Solid solutions Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy. A solid is characterized by structural ri ...

form between Cu₂FeSnS₄ and Cu₂ZnSnS₄ at temperatures above 680 °C. This accounts for the exsolved kesterite in stannite found in the cryolite. Kristallstruktur Kesterit

Use

Kesterite like substances are being researched as a solar photovoltaic material.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book, author=Bernhard Pracejus, title=The ore minerals under the microscope: an optical guide, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOgvXBjecmQC&pg=PA214, year=2008, publisher=Elsevier, isbn=978-0-444-52863-6, pages=214–215 Copper minerals Iron(II) minerals Tin minerals Sulfide minerals Tetragonal minerals Minerals in space group 82