Structural illite

The three minerals - quartz, calcite and mica - tested by Von Moons, were ground to a very small particle size and the PI then determined on the fraction Imer than two microns. The activity of these minerals is low, as might be expected frxim their relatively simple crystal structure. Illite is probably the most widespread of all clay minerals but it usually occurs in conjunction with other minerals. The clay known as bentonite consists almost exclusively of the mineral montmorillonite. In its natural state bentonite is usually a sodium clay... 

Cs NMR results for Cs on the surfaces of illite, kaolinite, boehmite and silica gel (Figure 3) show that for this large, low charge cation the surface behavior is quite similar to the interlayer behavior. They also illustrate the capabilities of NMR methods to probe surface species and the effects of RH on the structural environments and dynamical behavior of the Cs. The samples were prepared by immersing 0.5 gm of powdered solid in 50 ml of O.IM CsCl solution at 2 5°C for 5 days. Final pHs were between 4.60 and 7.77, greater than the zero point of charge, except for boehmite, which has a ZPC... 

The problem with limited selectivity includes some of the minerals which are problems for XRD illite, muscovite, smectites and mixed-layer clays. Poor crystallinity creates problems with both XRD and FTIR. The IR spectrum of an amorphous material lacks sharp distinguishing features but retains spectral intensity in the regions typical of its composition. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows low intensity relative to well-defined crystalline structures. The major problem for IR is selectivity for XRD it is sensitivity. In an interlaboratory FTIR comparison (7), two laboratories gave similar results for kaolinite, calcite, and illite, but substantially different results for montmorillonite and quartz. 

Initially, there are several types of micas which have similar properties but which have different physical and chemical origins. Illite, the low potassium aluminous mica-like mineral ( 10 X, non-expandable structure upon glycollation) can form diagenetically (Velde and Hower,... 

If then illite, or a potassic, mica-like mineral, is present in most of the geologic environments, the variations of its structure and chemistry must be examined with care in order to establish its chemical stability relative to the system in which it is found. 

The main method used to distinguish the relative quantities of neoformed illite is by the polymorph or structure of the material. Using the criteria that 2M and 3T polymorphs of dioctahedral potassic mica are high temperature forms (Velde, 1965a), the determination of the relative quantities of lMd, and 1M vs. 2M, 3T polymorphs permits a semi-quantitative estimation of the proportion of neo-formed or low temperature illite present in a specimen. A method commonly used is a determination of relative intensities of X-ray diffraction peaks of non-oriented mica (Velde and Hower, 1963 Maxwell and Hower, 1967). Usually only 2M and lMd polymorphs are present in illite specimens which simplifies the problem. The 1M polymorph is typical of ferric illites and celadonite-glauconites, the more tetrasilicic types. 

It is interesting to note that the 1M polymorph represents an ordered form while lMd structures are disordered (Guven and Burnham, 1967) and that the typical sequence in the process of glauconitization is lMd to 1M (Burst, 1958). Illite remains, for the most part, disordered even in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (Velde and Hower, 1963). This would suggest that the glauconite structure, being more symmetric, might be more stable than illite, a point which will be discussed when experimental studies are considered. 

Figure 17. Proposed phase relations where K is a mobile component and Al, Fe are immobile components at about 20°C and several atmosphere water pressure for aluminous and ferric-ferrous mica-smectite minerals. Symbols are as follows I illite G = non-expanding glauconite Ox = iron oxide Kaol = kaolinlte Mo montmorillonite smectite N nontronitic smectite MLAL aluminous illite-smectite interlayered minerals Mlpe = iron-rich glauconite mica-smectite interlayered mineral. Dashed lines 1, 2, and 3 indicate the path three different starting materials might take during the process of glauconitization. The process involves increase of potassium content and the attainment of an iron-rich octahedral layer in a mica structure.

It can be surmised that even though X-ray data indicated only expandable material, there must be significant interlayering with illite or other non-expandable mica-like phases such as glauconite-celadonite in order to give such a high structural charge imbalance. If not, one wonders why illites, with a similar chemical formula, are not expandable as well. 

As we have seen in the previous section, the bulk chemical compositions of montmorillonites taken from the literature are dispersed over the field of fully expandable, mixed layered and even extreme illite compositions. Just what the limits of true montmorillonite composition are cannot be established at present. We can, nevertheless, as a basis for discussion, assume that the ideal composition of beidellite with 0.25 charge per 10 oxygens and of montmorillonite with the same structural charge do exist in nature and that they form the end-members of montmorillonite solid solutions. Using this assumption one can suppose either solid solution between these two points or intimate mixtures of these two theoretical end-member fully expandable minerals. In either case the observable phase relations will be similar, since it is very difficult if not impossible to distinguish between the two species by physical or chemical methods should they be mixed together. As the bulk chemistry of the expandable phases suggests a mixture of two phases, we will use this hypothesis and it will be assumed here that the two montmorillonite... 

Figure 29. Possible general phase relations for illite and associated phyllosilicates as a function of varying P-T conditions. Ill = illite, either predominantly IMd or 2M in polymorph I = illite, 2M mica ID = k layer ordered mixed layered phase MLSS = mixed layered 3 or 2 layer ordering giving a superstructure reflection ML0 = mixed layered, ordered structure with no superstructure MLr = mixed layered non-ordered M, = fully expandable montmorillonite Chi = chlorite Kaol = kaolinite Exp 3 " expanding chlorite and/or corrensite.

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