spinelike

Spinel-like is an adjective used in mineralogy and materials science to describe minerals or compounds that resemble the spinel structure or belong to the spinel family of oxides. The term often refers to substances with the general oxide formula AB2O4 that crystallize in the cubic close-packed lattice of the spinel structure, typically in the space group Fd-3m. In a canonical spinel, A2+ cations occupy tetrahedral sites and B3+ cations occupy octahedral sites within an oxygen lattice; distributions of cations can yield normal spinel or inverse spinel arrangements.

Natural spinel minerals form part of the spinel group, with examples such as magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4), iron aluminum spinel (FeAl2O4, hercynite), and chromite (FeCr2O4). In ferrite materials, including magnetite (Fe3O4) and other transition-metal ferrites like CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4, the spinel structure accounts for their magnetic properties; these are often described as inverse spinels.

Spinel-like materials extend beyond strict AB2O4 stoichiometry and can include solid solutions, substituted cation distributions, and synthetic analogs designed for specific properties, such as catalytic activity, magnetic data storage, dielectric behavior, and ceramics. Crystallographic analysis is required to confirm spinel structure and cation distribution.