Plancheite Cu8Si8O22(OH)(4)center dot H2O is a hydrated copper hydroxy silicate. Raman spectroscopy complimented with infrared spectroscopy has been used to determine the molecular structure of plancheite. Raman bands at around 1048. 1081 and 1127 are described as the nu(1)-SiO3 symmetric stretching vibrations; Raman bands at 828, 906 are attributed to the nu(3)-SiO3 antisymmetric stretching vibrations. The Raman band at 699 cm(-1) is assigned to the nu(4) bending modes of the -SiO3 units. The intense Raman band at 3479 cm(-1) is ascribed to the stretching vibration of the OH units. The Raman band at 3250 cm(-1) is evidence for water in the structure. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.