abstract:The spinels are any of a class of minerals of general formulation A2+B23+O42- which crystallise in the cubic (isometric) crystal system, with the oxide anions arranged in a cubic close-packed lattice and the cations A and B occupying some or all of the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in the lattice. A and B can be divalent, trivalent, or quadrivalent cations, including magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, aluminium, chromium, titanium, and silicon.