Editing Monazite (section)

==Structure==
[[File:PbCrO4.jpg|thumb|left|220 px|Structure of monazite. Color scheme: red = O, pale blue = P, dark gray = Ce(III) and other lanthanides and actinides.]]
All monazites adopt the same structure, meaning that the connectivity of the atoms is very similar to other compounds of the type {{chem2|M(III)PO4}}. The M(III) centers have a distorted coordination sphere being surrounded by eight oxides with M–O distances around 2.6 Å in length. The phosphate anion is tetrahedral, as usual. The same structural motif is observed for [[lead chromate]] ({{chem2|PbCrO4}}).<ref>Quareni, S.; de Pieri, R. "A three-dimensional refinement of the structure of crocoite, PbCrO<sub>4</sub>" ''Acta Crystallographica'' 1965, volume 19, pp. 287–289.</ref> Monazite also shares many structural similarities with; [[zircon]], [[xenotime]], [[scheelite]], [[anhydrite]], [[Baryte|barite]], and rhabdophane.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Clavier |first1=Nicolas |last2=Podor |first2=Renaud |last3=Dacheux |first3=Nicolas |date=June 2011 |title=Crystal chemistry of the monazite structure |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0955221910005923 |journal=Journal of the European Ceramic Society |language=en |volume=31 |issue=6 |pages=941–976 |doi=10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2010.12.019|url-access=subscription }}</ref>