Analysis of microporous mineral phases with Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra

The methods for computer characterization of voids in crystal structures using Voronoi-Dirichlet polyhedra are applied to microporous mineral phases. It is shown that these methods allow an appropriate visualization of interstitial voids, cavities, cages, and channels, which provides an estimate of their geometrical properties, such as size and shape. Some typical minerals are considered to analyse the system of voids, and the methods are found to be an effective tool for predicting the type and positions of interstitial cations.