Raman spectroscopy characterisation of synthetic platinum-group minerals (PGM) in the Pd-Sn-Te and Pd-Pb-Te ternary systems

The identification of minerals that occur as tiny and rare phases such as most of the natural platinum-group minerals (PGM) is a challenging target. The main reason for that resides in their size (generally less than 10 micrometres) and mode of occurrence (i.e. polyphasic aggregates) that make problematic the identification by standard X-ray diffraction methods. In this contribution we have applied the Raman spectroscopy to synthetic PGM in the ternary systems Pd-Sn-Te and Pd-Pb-Te. Some of the analyzed PGM show characteristic Raman bands and the following PGM can be distinguished using the Raman spectroscopy: merenskyite, kotulskite, kojonenite, pa{161}avaite and Pd (sub 3) Te (sub 2) . Other PGM in the ternary Pd-Sn-Te and Pd-Pb-Te systems cannot be identified using this technique. These results demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy can be considered as an innovative and complementary methodology with a potential to identify and to better characterize the PGM.