Group Theoretical Analysis of the v 1 (CO 3 2-) Vibration in Crystalline Calcium Carbonate

A group theoretical analysis, based on the correlation method, is presented for the symmetric stretch vibration of the carbonate ion in three crystalline forms of calcium carbonate: calcite, aragonite and vaterite. Numbers of Raman and infrared active components are calculated and compared with experimental data, including those from a recent Raman study of vaterite. It is shown that the splitting observed for v _l in vaterite is compatible with two of the proposed crystal structures for this compound.