Wurtzite

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Wurtzite is a less frequently encountered mineral form of zinc sulfide, named after French chemist Charles-Adolphe Wurtz.

The crystal structure is a member of the hexagonal crystal system and consists of tetrahedrally coordinated zinc and sulfur atoms that are stacked in an ABABAB pattern. The structure is closely related to the structure of lonsdaleite, or hexagonal diamond.

The unit cell parameters of wurtzite are

• a = b = 3.81 Å = 381 pm
• c = 6.23 Å = 623 pm

Several other compounds can take the wurtzite structure, including AgI, ZnO, CdS, CdSe, α-SiC, GaN, AlN, and other semiconductors. In most of these compounds, wurtzite is not the favored form of the bulk crystal, but the structure can be favored in some nanocrystal forms of the material.