Amorphous materials, chemically derived

A source of error in chemical analyses of montmorillonites (and in other clays) that is not commonly checked is the presence of amorphous material, particularly Si and Al. Table XXXII lists structural formulas given by Osthaus (1955) for montmorillonites which were purified by size fraction and by extraction with 0.5 N NaOH to remove amorphous Si and Al. In six analyses dissolved silica ranged from 3.6 to 8.4% and alumina from 0.6 to 2.25%. Amorphous silicon dioxide should be expected in most montmorillonites derived from volcanic material. The source glass has more Si than is required for the 2 1 layer and the excess must be leached from the glass. Much of the Si is deposited in the sediments underlying the bentonite bed in the form of chert but it is to be expected that the extraction would not be complete and a portion of the colloidal Si would remain in the bentonite bed. 

In spin-diffusion studies it is possible to detect not only two but three domain sizes. The third domain can be considered the interface (i) between the other two domains, which can be different chemical species in a polymer blend or rigid crystalline (r) and mobile amorphous (m) material in a semicrystalline polymer. To illustrate this point, a mobility timescale is depicted in Fig. 7.2.25(a) and the simplified ID domain structure of PE underneath in (b). Rigid crystalline and mobile amorphous materials exhibit motion of chain segments with different correlation times Tc. The chains at the interface between both domains exhibit intermediate mobility. The exact ranges of correlation times in the individual domains depend on the particular choice of filters. Therefore, the values of domain sizes derived through spin-diffusion NMR also depend on the type of filters used. In particular, the interface is defined solely by the NMR experiment and can only be detected if the filters are properly chosen. 

Boron-containing nonoxide amorphous or crystalline advanced ceramics, including boron nitride (BN), boron carbide (B4C), boron carbonitride (B/C/N), and boron silicon carbonitride Si/B/C/N, can be prepared via the preceramic polymers route called the polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) route, using convenient thermal and chemical processes. Because the preparation of BN has been the most in demand and widespread boron-based material during the past two decades, this chapter provides an overview of the conversion of boron- and nitrogen-containing polymers into advanced BN materials. 

As a result of these studies it became evident that mechanical and chemical treatments may alter the relative amounts of crystallized and amorphous cellulose in a sample. For example, it was estimated that a normally coagulated viscose filament was about 40 % crystalline and 60 % amorphous while filaments of the same material, after being stretched, appeared to be 70% crystalline and 30% amorphous. This effect was observed to be more pronounced in cellulose derivatives than in unsubstituted cellulose where apparently the blocking of hydroxyl groups reduces the lateral forces of cohesion between chains, facilitates slipping and consequently promotes parallelization of chains. 

The reaction is carried out in ether, out of which it separates as a brown, amorphous solid. It is chemically resistant to both acids and bases. On heating, or by frictional action, the material decomposes violently into the elements. Based on this behavior it has been proposed that the compound is a derivative of acetylene, that is, essentially arsenic acetylide. 

Spectroscopic techniques (particularly infrared, x-ray photoelectron, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy) have been applied to fill the information gap about chemical speciation and interfacial reactions of As in model and natural materials. They have been used to determine the stmcture of x-ray amorphous particles involved in interfacial reactions, to identify the types of sorption reactions occurring in simplified model systems containing As and one or more phases, and to identify the valence and speciation of predominant As species present in natural, heterogeneous materials. This chapter summarizes much of the recent spectroscopic information on arsenic speciation in minerals and other solid phases that are analogous to phases present in aquifer sediments. These data are primarily derived from analysis of synthetic samples or natural model compounds. 

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