Riet veld X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis has been evaluated as a procedure for characterizing Al-substituted goethite according to the Rietveld scale factor, unit-cell parameters, and atom positional parameters. The study was conducted with three synthetic goethite samples for which the degree of Al substitution for Fe determined by chemical analysis was 8.0 ± 0.4, 12.0 ± 0.4, and 20.1 ± 0.4 mole %. The weight fractions of crystalline material (WFCM) in the specimens, determined from the Rietveld scale factors after correcting for adsorbed water and impurities, were 0.878 (esd = 0.014), 0.919 (0.014), and 0.965 (0.015), respectively. The Al mole % substitutions, inferred from the Rietveld cell parameters according to the method of Schulze (1984), were 10.4 ± 2.5, 16.5 ± 2.6, and 17.1 ± 2.6, respectively. The cause of the significant difference between the second value and the chemical analysis result is not known. The atom positional parameters did not differ significantly within the sample suite and agreed satisfactorily with literature values. The results have demonstrated the value of using Rietveld XRD analysis to determine simultaneously the WFCM and Al mole % substitutions, as well as to confirm the non-hydrogen atom positions.

The electron spin resonance of some structural Fe3+ for montmorillonites having low Fe3+ content, is perturbed by electrostatic interaction between exchange cations and structural charge sites. The position of charge centers of organic and inorganic cations in the interlayer can thus be determined at various levels of solvation. Dielectric media between the silicate layers lower the electrostatic attraction between the silicate and the exchange cations. The silicate charge appears to be partially delocalized on structural oxygen atoms as shown by electron spin resonance and i.r. spectroscopy. There is also evidence that divalent exchange cations on dehydrated montmorillonites cause hydrolysis of water; the protons so produced migrate to structural charge sites.

Cobalt (II) and Al (III) layered double hydroxides were precipitated from homogeneous solutions using urea hydrolysis under hydrothermal conditions. The particle sizes were controlled successfully by changing the reaction temperature and period. It was found that larger particles formed by reactions at lower temperatures over longer reaction periods because the slow urea hydrolysis at lower temperatures suppresses the formation of nuclei in the solution. When the reaction was conducted at 60°C for 100 days, particles >40 µm wide were obtained.

The Tertiary silicic volcanic rocks in the Silent Canyon Caldera beneath Pahute Mesa, of the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site have been divided into three vertical mineralogical zones that vary in thickness and transgress stratigraphic boundaries. Zonal contacts are generally sharp. Zone 1, the uppermost zone, includes unaltered or incipiently altered rhyolitic glass. Zone 2 is characterized by a predominance of clinoptilolite and subordinate amounts of smectite, cristobalite, and mordenite. Zone 3 is a complex mineral assemblage that includes analcime, quartz, calcite, authigenic K-feldspar and albite, kaolinite, chlorite, and mixed-layer illite/smectite. The mixed-layer clay shows an increase in ordering and a decrease in expandability with depth.

Shortly after deposition and after shallow burial, hydration of relatively impermeable, highly porous vitric rocks resulted in the rapid formation of the Zone 2 assemblage (except mordenite). This stage of alteration resulted in a net porosity loss and negligible mass transfer. Continued burial and rise in temperature led to a dehydration stage in which the Zone 2 assemblage was replaced by the Zone 3 minerals. The dehydration stage resulted in a porosity increase and an increase in permeability of several orders of magnitude. This process, like the earlier reactions, also conserved mass. Precipitation of mordenite followed the formation of this zonal configuration. The diagenetic zones below Pahute Mesa were caused by: (1) changing pore-water chemistry in an essentially closed hydrologic system; (2) disequilibrium or kinetic precipitation of metastable phases; and (3) a higher thermal gradient than that now present.

Glauconite-smectite and illite-smectite interlayered minerals are compared by various means in an attempt to establish the mineralogical relations between the two groups. Experiments at 2 Kb pressure and 200–350°C are reported as well as microprobe scans of pelletal glauconites. This new information is used along with published chemical data in order to establish that

(1) Illite and glauconite mixed layered phases appear to be crystallographically similar. Both series show the same relations between potassium (mica) content and the amount of smectite layers apparent in the interlayered structure.

(2) Illite and glauconite mica or mica-like phases can be separated on the basis of Fe and K contents.

(3) Probable phase relations of the two mixed layered mineral series indicate that, when the starting materials contain mixed layered mica-smectites, increasing temperature produces an iron-rich mica in the case of glauconite and an aluminous mica in the case of illite. The mixed layered phases present at intermediate temperatures are not the same for illites and glauconites.

Apparently there is no mineralogical or chemical continuity between illite and glauconite when the potassium content is 6 wt % or greater. It might be possible that the potassic interlayered minerals near montmorillonite or nontronite could form a continuous solid solution.

The crystal structures of a reddish-purple, Mn-bearing muscovite-2M1 (alurgite variety) and a reddish-brown, Mn-bearing phlogopite-1M (manganophyllite variety) were refined to final residuals of 2.7% and 3.1%, respectively. The refinements were carried out in space groups C2/c and C1 for alurgite and C2/m and C2 for manganophyllite. The C1 and C2 subgroup refinements gave atomic coordinates consistent with the parent space group refinements. No cation ordering was found in either specimen, and the structures are very similar to those of muscovite and phlogopite. Residual areas of positive electron densities were found between the tetrahedral cations and neighboring oxygens in difference maps of both minerals. Those of alurgite were examined in detail to show the correlation between the residual densities and covalent bonding in the tetrahedra. The valence of the Fe present was determined by Mössbauer spectra as Fe3+ in both samples and of the Mn by optical spectra as Mn3+ in the alurgite but as Mn2+ in the manganophyllite.

Clay minerals in shales from cores at Site 808, Nankai Trough, have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and analytical electron microscopy (AEM) to compare the rates and mechanisms of illitization with those of coeval bentonites, which were described previously. Authigenic K-rich smectite having a high Fe content (∼7 wt. %) was observed to form directly as an alteration product of volcanic glass at a depth of ∼500 meters below seafloor (mbsf) with no intermediate precursor. Smectite is then largely replaced by Reichweite, R, (R = 1) illite-smectite (I-S) and minor illite and chlorite over depths from ∼550 to ∼700 mbsf. No further mineralogical changes occur to the maximum depth cored, ∼1300 m. Most smectite and I-S in shales are derived from alteration of glass, rather than being detrital, as is usually assumed. Discrete layer sequences of smectite, I-S, or illite coexist, indicating discontinuities of the transformation from smectite to (R = 1) I-S to illite. Authigenic Fe-rich chlorite forms concomitantly with I-S and illite, with the source of Fe from reactant smectite.

Smectite forms from glass with an intermediate precursor in coeval bentonites at approximately the same depth as in shales, but the smectite remains largely unchanged, with the exception of exchange of interlayer cations (K → Na → Ca) in response to formation of zeolites, to the bottom of the core. Differences in rates of illitization reflect the metastability of the clays. Temperature, structure-state, and composition of reactant smectite are ruled out as determining factors that increase reaction rates here, whereas differences in water/rock ratio (porosity/permeability), Si and K activities, and organic acid content are likely candidates.

The fungus Aspergillus flavus Link ex Fries can infect grains and oil seeds and develop Aflatoxin B1 (AfB1) in the fieldor in storage. Aflatoxin contamination is a serious health hazard — it is extremely toxic and hepatocarcinogenic for animals and humans. A practical approach to solve this problem is to use smectite clay as an amendment to animal feed. The objective of this research is to investigate smectite clay—AfB1 interactions by employing Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to determine how clay composition influences AfB1 adsorption by smectites. When AfB1 was present in the clay, the spectral region from 1800 to 1300 cm−1 was altered, and the regions between 4000 and 1800 and 1300 and 400 cm−1 were unchanged except for the intensity in the broad region near 3400 cm−1 related to the abundance of water. The 1300–400 cm−1 region is attributed only to smectite clay properties, and it relates to the relative adsorption potential of the different smectites. Bonding between AfB1 and smectite clay appears to be in the furan rings. Other possible bonding is with the two oxygens in the coumarin ring of AfB1 and interlayer cations or their associated water molecules. The FTIR evidence of octahedral Fe in smectite and amorphous silica in the clays both indicate greater AfB1 adsorption potential. Other smectites with spectral absorption indicating predominantly Al in the octahedral positions adsorbed less AfB1.

The structure of a highly disordered synthetic birnessite was studied by comparing powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) data with calculated patterns generated by BIRNDIF and WILDFIRE© in an attempt to describe the nature of disorder and to estimate the size of the coherent diffracting domains. The material has a turbostratic stacking sequence and coherent diffracting domains that are 25 to 30 Å on a side in the ab plane (N1 = 5 unit cells, N2 = 10 unit cells) and which average 2.5 unit cells thick parallel to c. Turbostratic stacking probably results because there are few constraints on the relationship between adjacent layers.

A better understanding of the thermodynamics of radioactive cesium uptake at the surfaces of phyllosilicate minerals is needed to understand the mechanisms of selective adsorption and help guide the development of practical and inexpensive decontamination techniques. In this work, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to determine the thermodynamics of Cs+ adsorption at the basal surface of six 2:1 phyllosilicate minerals, namely pyrophyllite, illite, muscovite, phlogopite, celadonite, and margarite. These minerals were selected to isolate the effects of the magnitude of the permanent layer charge (⩽2), its location (tetrahedral vs. octahedral sheet), and the octahedral sheet structure (dioctahedral vs. trioctahedral). Good agreement was obtained with the experiments in terms of the hydration free energy of Cs+ and the structure and thermodynamics of Cs+ adsorption at the muscovite basal surface, for which published data were available for comparison. With the exception of pyrophyllite, which did not exhibit an inner-sphere free energy minimum, all phyllosilicate minerals showed similar behavior with respect to Cs+ adsorption; notably, Cs+ adsorption was predominantly inner-sphere, whereas outer-sphere adsorption was very weak with the simulations predicting the formation of an extended outer-sphere complex. For a given location of the layer charge, the free energy of adsorption as an inner-sphere complex varied linearly with the magnitude of the layer charge. For a given layer charge location and magnitude, adsorption at phlogopite (trioctahedral sheet structure) was much less favorable than at muscovite (dioctahedral sheet structure) due to electrostatic repulsion between adsorbed Cs+ and the H atom of the OH- ion directly below the six-membered siloxane ring cavity. For a given layer charge magnitude and octahedral sheet structure, adsorption to celadonite (octahedral sheet layer charge) was favored over adsorption to muscovite (tetrahedral sheet layer charge) due to the increased distance to the surface K+ ions and the decreased distance to the O atom of the OH- ion directly below the surface cavity.

Iron phyllosilicates with 1:1 and 2:1 layer structures were prepared from silicic acid, ferrous sulfate and sodium hydroxide. Hydrothermal treatment at 100–200°C of a reaction mixture with an initial Fe/Si ratio of 1.5 gave the 2:1 iron phyllosilicate, whereas a Fe/Si ratio of 2.25 gave the 1:1 phyllosilicate. The 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that 60% of the iron in the 1:1 phyllosilicate is ferrous, versus only 3% in the 2:1 phyllosilicate. The values of quadrupole coupling showed that the iron-oxygen tetrahedra and octahedra in the 2:1 phyllosilicate were more deformed than those in the 1:1 phyllosilicate.

The Mecca Quarry Shale Member from Velpen, Indiana contains abundant vanadium which occurs in solid solution within illite-rich illite-smectite (I-S) having an average content of 1.65 wt. % V, and an overall composition of K0.8(Al2.8Mg0.5Fe0.4V0.3)(Si7.2Al0.8 g)O20(OH)4, analogous to the V-rich dioctahedral mica, roscoelite. The illite contains more than twice as much V as the associated kerogen. Detrital mica has a composition typical of 2M1, muscovite and contains no vanadium. The V-rich illite has a structure and composition typical of formation during normal prograde diagenesis and probably is widespread in the Mecca Quarry Shale because the bed is enriched in V throughout the Midwest. The smectite-to-illite reaction can not be a result of passive burial metamorphism because the host strata were buried no deeper than ~0.5 km at Velpen. The formation of illite occurred in unlithified sediments at shallow depths under the influence of pervasive 80–110°C basinal brines, possibly the same fluids that were responsible for the Mississippi Valley-type lead-zinc mineralization common in the Midwest. The presence of two types of K-rich phyllosilicates may be part of the reason for the lack of correlation between bulk V concentrations and the intensities of X-ray diffraction peaks of illite reported by others.

A saponite pillared with a single (Al2O3) or a mixed (SiO2-TiO2) oxide exhibited basal spacings of 16–19 and 30–40Å, respectively. The pillared structures were found to be stable up to 700°C. Water, nitrogen, and high resolution argon adsorption were used to study the effect of thermal treatments on surface chemistry, pore structure, and surface area of these pillared clays. The pillared saponites exhibited a hydrophobic behavior at temperatures > 500°C, whereas such behavior was observed at ≥300°C for montmorillonite. Most of the micropores in the Al2O3 pillared clays were < 10 Å, whereas the SiO2-TiO2 pillared clays showed a broad distribution of pores in both micropore and mesopore regions. The SiO2-TiO2 pillared samples possessed higher surface area compared with Al2O3 pillared clays. The percent decrease in surface area was smaller for pillared saponites compared with pillared montmorillonites when calcined from 300° to 700°C, indicating a higher thermal stability of the former. The pillared clays were also characterized by solid state 27Al and 29Si magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS/NMR) spectroscopy. There was no direct evidence of cross-linking (covalent bonding between the clay layer and pillar) in montmorillonite irrespective of the types of pillars. In saponite, however, a significant structural modification took place. 27Al spectra of Al2O3 pillared saponite heated at ≥300°C appear to indicate an increase in AlVI as a result, at least in part, of initiation of hydrolytic splitting of Si-O-Al bonds. The actual release of Al from the tetrahedral sheet probably occurred at a temperature > 500°C and completed around 700°C with the formation of Si-O-Si linkages. The decreased intensity of peak due to Si(1Al) in 29Si spectra of the sample heated at 700°C corroborates the 27Al MAS/NMR results. Additionally, the 29Si spectra indicated a cross-linking between SiO4 (clay sheet) with Al2O3 pillars, which could be achieved by inverting some silica tetrahedra into the interlayer. 27Al and 29Si spectra of SiO2TiO2 pillared saponite also showed the trend similar to that exhibited by Al2O3 pillared saponite, indicating that the crystal chemistry of the host may be more important than the nature of pillars in the structural modification and cross-linking behavior of thermally treated pillared clays.

The mineral and chemical composition of green glauconitic grains from ODP Site 959 (2100 m water depth) located on the northern flank of the Ivory Coast—Ghana Marginal Ridge was studied. Recurrent winnowing of a 20 m thick Pleistocene succession resulted in a low accumulation rate and stratigraphic hiatuses. The green clay material typically occurs as fillings in the chambers of pelagic foraminifers. The amount of green clay present in sediments older than 1 Ma is small, and greater in younger material. Mud composed of smectite, kaolinite, traces of mica, calcite and quartz was the precursor material that filled the chambers of the foraminifers. Processes at the water-sediment interface slowly modified this composition. Kaolinite was dissolved; smectite lost Al but gained Fe, K and layer charge. In that matrix, the nanocrystals of neoformed smectite are observed. The infrared (IR) spectra showed OH-stretching and bending vibrations due to groups incorporating Fe3+. The spectra are in agreement with the crystallochemical formulae of Fe3+-rich montmorillonite as determined by point-by-point analyses on the neoformed crystallites and on the surrounding matrix. The layer charge in this Fe3+-rich montmorillonite is almost wholly octahedral as shown in crystallochemical formulae and documented independently by a new IR method. The tetrahedral charge appeared when the Fe content increased by > 1.2 Fe per formula unit. With the maturation process, the increased role of the closed layers is observed, with the color of grains becoming greener. We have documented for the first time glauconitization proceeding at a depth of 2100 m at a temperature near 3°C. The most important factors of the process are: accumulation of terrigenous clayey material in the foraminiferal chambers, Fe supply from a nearby continent, and a lengthy residence at the water-sediment interface in the zone of the winnowing and low sediment accumulation rate.

Plane-wave pseudopotential total energy calculations have been applied to investigate the structure and energetics of the Cs/K exchange into interlayer sites in muscovite mica. Novel muscovite structures were designed to isolate the effects of 2:1 layer charge, cation size/interlayer site shape, and tetrahedral Al/Si substitutions on the exchange. All atom and cell-parameter optimizations were performed with the intention to mimic the constant pressure, non-isovolumetric exchange conditions thought to be found at frayed-edge sites. Under conditions where the cell parameters are allowed to relax, the overall Cs/K exchange reaction is surprisingly close to isoenergetic. The forward reaction is more strongly favored with increasing layer charge. For the condition of zero layer charge and no interlayer site distortion, the difference in the optimal interlayer spacing for Cs relative to K is very small, indicating a baseline indifference of the muscovite structure to cation size. The presence of 2:1 layer charge or tetrahedral rotations arising from Al/Si substitutions clearly change this outcome. Analysis of the dependence of the interlayer spacing on layer charge shows that while the spacing collapses with increasing layer charge for K as the interlayer cation, the reverse is true for Cs. We attribute the contrasting behavior to inherent differences in the ability of these cations to screen 2:1 layer-layer repulsions. Such effects might be involved during exchange at frayed-edge sites where interlayer spacings are increased. This is known, from experiment, to be very selective for Cs. Overall, the exchange energetics are so low that the Cs/K exchange rate and degree of irreversibility are likely to be dominated by diffusion kinetics.

The form under which ethylenediamine (EDA) is adsorbed from aqueous solution by hydrogen- and ethylenediammonium-montmorillonite was studied as a function of the amount of amine present in the system.

EDA added to the acid clay in quantities lower than or equal to the cation exchange capacity (C.E.C.) was exclusively adsorbed as ethylenediammonium (EDAH22+) ion. On further addition of diamine the pH of the suspension rose to alkaline values and the monoprotonated species (EDAH+) was the main charge balancing cation.

Evaporating at room temperature “EDA-H-montmorillonite-H2O” or “EDA-EDAH2-mont- morillonite-H2O” systems containing 300 me EDA/100 g clay did not cause loss of nitrogen, but degassing under high vacuum (10−5 mm Hg) did. Nevertheless, excess EDA molecules with respect to the C.E.C. were retained on the clay surface, at the expense of water molecules, through strong asymmetrical hydrogen bonds between their NH2 groups and the NH3+ groups of EDAH+ ions. On heating up to 160°C under vacuum the nitrogen content decreased further, but still remained at a level significantly higher than the C.E.C. value, all NH3+ groups remaining involved in strong hydrogen bonding. It is suggested that a “condensation” process takes place, implying evolution of EDA molecules and giving rise to “polymeric” associations between protonated and unprotonated diamine.

Washing the clay suspensions with distilled water did not completely remove excess EDA either, as a consequence of the equilibrium existing between the ionic species in solution (EDAH22+ and EDAH+) and on the clay surface. It seems that these species were preferentially adsorbed as “trimeric” associations in which two out of four NH3+ groups are hydrogen bonded to NH2 groups.

After heating at 200°C, nitrogen retained on the clay surface was mainly in the form of NH4+ ions. Ammonium formation was enhanced by the presence of excess EDA and was considerably faster than in montmorillonite systems containing EDA coordinated to Cu2+ ions.

Ion-exchange experiments in expanding clay minerals conducted over a wide range of surface ionic compositions and ionic strength produce variable mass-action selectivity coefficients. When the exchanging ions are of unequal charge, tactoid structure appears to influence selectivity, although configurational entropy of adsorbed ions may also generate variable selectivity. The degree of deviation from ideal mass-action exchange is related to the dissimilarity of the ions undergoing exchange. Data involving trivalent ion adsorption on smectites suggest that mass-action is a poor approximation when the adsorbing and desorbing ions have different hydration energies and charge. No form of exchange equation is successful in describing ion exchange for a wide range of experimental conditions, although the fluctuation of the selectivity coefficient follows consistent trends with changing experimental conditions. The strong adsorption of high-charge ions on clays is not exothermic, but must be driven by the increasing disorder of ions and/or water.

High-Mg chlorites from Vermont and Quebec and high-Fe chlorites from Michigan and New Mexico were equilibrated at room temperature in the near-neutral pH range. Gibbsite, kaolinite, and hematite of known stability were added to the samples to control unmeasurable variables at calculable levels. Equilibrium solution compositions were obtained from undersaturation and from supersaturation. Other indicators of equilibrium were good agreement between successive analyses over a long period of time, between duplicate samples, between independent systems, and between independent measures of equilibrium. All four chlorites were stable relative to brucite and, with a few exceptions, relative to talc under the conditions of study. When in equilibrium with gibbsite, the pH − ½Mg2+ value of the chlorites ranged from 6.3 to 6.5, at a pH4SiO4 value of 4.0. These values are in good agreement with prior estimates of chlorite stability. The calculated standard free energy of formation of the chlorites is dependent upon solution Fe2+ calculated from the sample Eh and assumed equilibrium with hematite, with the assumption that the Fe2+-Fe3+ couple is at the same Eh as the sample.

Soil formation usually results in an increase in magnetic susceptibility. The magnetic properties of the products of transformation of ferrihydrite, a typical precursor of other soil Fe oxides, were examined in the present work. Synthetic 2-line ferrihydrite was aged at two temperatures (25 and 50°C) and two different relative humidities (80 and 100%) in the presence of silicate, phosphate, citrate, and tartrate as adsorbed ligands (molar anion/Fe ratio = 1–3%). The ligands delayed or prevented the transformation of ferrihydrite to hematite. The magnetic susceptibility of the ferrihydrite transformation products increased with aging, the rate of increase depending on the type of ligand added and its concentration. The largest increase in magnetic susceptibility, sixfold, was obtained with ferrihydrite in a citrate/Fe ratio of 1%, after 1500 days. The resulting magnetic products exihibited superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature and high coercivity at 5 K. The formation of an intermediate ferrimagnetic phase in the ferrihydrite-to-hematite transformation might explain the magnetic enhancement observed in many aerobic soils lacking other sources of magnetic minerals.

For a series of mixed-layer illite-smectite (I-S) minerals from a drillhole near the Kakkonda geothermal field, one-dimensional structure analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed using Casaturated specimens in both air-dried and ethylene glycol-solvated states. The expandability characteristics of component layers were also examined by means of alkylammonium exchange and Li saturation. The K content in the illite layers was 1.5–1.7/O20(OH)4 in the I-S series from 3 to 85% of I-layer content (% I). The layer charge of the smectite layer varied slightly within the range of 0.3–0.5/O10(OH)2 by alkylammonium exchange experiments and the expandability was independent of the beidellite content within a range of 0–0.5 by the Li-saturation test. The degree of long-range ordering represented by Reichweite (R) parameters varied from R0 to R3 via R1 and R2 with increase in % I. The I-S samples contained <10% vermiculite as the third component and the vermiculite content tended to decrease with progressive illitization.

In contrast to the smectitic R0 samples (<10% I), more illitic R0 (e.g. 35% I) and >R1 I-S samples showed complicated expandability with alkylammonium exchange. The XRD patterns of dodecylammonium-exchanged I-S samples can be interpreted by random interstratification of several types of sub-units such as layer-doublets, layer-triplets and layer-quartets present in the crystallites. This interpretation is consistent with the variation in the occurrence probabilities of layer-multiplets calculated from the junction probabilities and the proportions of layers. Because the interpretation indicates that I-S is a stack of various types of the sub-units, the smectite illitization can be described by a systematic change in the type and proportion of the sub-units constituting crystallites.