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I'm writing a paper on chemistry and I would like to know which allotropes of sulfur exist naturally. I've searched on the Internet but I haven't found anything about natural sulfur allotropes except this book(Ref. 1). Does anyone know the answer?

Reference

  1. Steudel R., Eckert B. () Solid Sulfur Allotropes. In: Steudel R. (eds) Elemental Sulfur and Sulfur-Rich Compounds I. Topics in Current Chemistry, vol 230. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, DOI: doi.org/10.1007/b12110
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    $\begingroup$ Even the elemental sulfur in its most common yellow powder form is rare. I would be surprised if any other would exist. Maybe temporarily, in active vulcans, a very little bit of. $\endgroup$
    – peterh
    Oct 17, 2020 at 13:37
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    $\begingroup$ Some browsing in Wikipedia, e.g. here suggests only $\alpha$ and $\gamma$-form are found naturally in significant amounts at ambient conditions. The $\beta{}$ form probably only if the molten sulfur drops into nearby water, but over time, it is not a stable form. But varying pressure and temperature changes the typical $\ce{S8}$ molecule. $\endgroup$
    – Buttonwood
    Oct 17, 2020 at 13:40
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    $\begingroup$ @Buttonwood Thanks for the answer! However, from the reference that I provided above, I already know that $\alpha{}$ and $\gamma{}$-$\ce{S8}$ naturally occur. $\endgroup$
    – Tech Expert Wizard
    Oct 17, 2020 at 16:29
  • $\begingroup$ @NilayGhosh Oh, okay, I'll add a self-answer. Thanks! $\endgroup$
    – Tech Expert Wizard
    May 8, 2021 at 14:54
  • $\begingroup$ I just answered: How do native sulfur crystals form? $\endgroup$
    – Nilay Ghosh
    May 10, 2021 at 9:29

1 Answer 1

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The alpha and gamma form of cyclo-S8 are the only forms to occur naturally. Besides the reference provided in the question, you can also find more information in the wikipedia article of "sulfur allotropes".

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