Hydrothermal chlorite replaces igneous biotite in the Gold Hill, Utah, quartz monzonite. Chemical compositions of coexisting biotite and chlorite determined by electron microprobe and wet chemical methods were used to evaluate chemical mass transfer during the alteration process. The mole ratio Mg/(Mg + Fe) varies from 0.52 to 0.65 in the chlorite and from 0.51 to 0.60 in the parent biotite. The Mg content of the chlorite decreases systematically with increase in the volume percent replacement of biotite. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in nearby quartz microveinlets indicate that the chloritic alteration took place at approximately 200°C.

Textural relationships suggest that the alteration of biotite to chlorite is isovolumetric, but a comparison of mineral compositions and mineral assemblages with phase diagrams in which Al or volume are conserved among solid phases suggests that the chlorite compositions are best explained as a function of reaction progress in an Al-conservative system. The chlorite composition changes in response to changes in solution composition produced by the dissolution of successive small amounts of biotite. Representative mass balance for the alteration of all of the biotite to chlorite in 1 m3 of rock containing 336 moles of biotite indicates that 74 moles of Mg, 35 moles of Fe3+, 420 moles of H+, and 2 moles of Mn are added to the rock and that 311 moles of K, 54 moles of Fe2+, 76 moles of Ti, 53 moles of F, and 6 moles of Cl are lost to solution. The mass transfer for partially altered biotite is 11 to 188 moles of K, 2 to 46 moles of Ti, 2 to 44 moles of F, and 0.3 to 6 moles of Cl removed per cubic meter of rock and 1 to 26 moles of Fe3+ and 20 to 347 moles of H+ added. The mass transfer of Mg varies from 12 moles added to 32 moles removed per cubic meter of rock depending on mineral composition and extent of replacement.

Stearic acid adsorption by chrysotile asbestos in hexane was shown to occur by the formation of a Mg-stearate complex on the mineral surface. Infrared spectroscopy showed no evidence of physically adsorbed stearic acid over the range of concentration employed. Absorption bands at 1560 and 1410 cm−1 in the spectrum of the chrysotile-stearic acid complex correspond with band positions in the spectrum of a synthesized Mg-stearate complex. No evidence of the acid form, which produces a band at 1713 cm−1, was present in the spectrum of the chrysotile complexes. At an equilibrium concentration of 0.8 mg stearic acid/ml, the mineral adsorbed 42 mg stearic acid/g. By heating the mineral in molten stearic acid, additional stearic acid beyond that observed by adsorption from solution was adsorbed in the carboxylate form. Calculations based on the molecular dimensions of stearic acid and the crystal structure of chrysotile indicate that the limiting factor in possible surface occupancy is the molecular size of stearic acid rather than the surface density of Mg-OH adsorption sites.

Infrared analysis showed that the bonding habit of oxyanions with freshly precipitated hydrous ferric oxides depends upon the nature of the anion and its hydration level. Monovalent oxyanions adsorb through an electrostatic interaction with the hydrated hydrous oxide surface. All divalent oxyanions, with the exception of tellurate, coordinate directly with surface iron cations. Tellurate, an octahedral anion, apparently penetrates and incorporates in the hydrous oxide structure. The symmetry of the free anion has a significant role in determining the configuration of the resultant complex. For anions of the same charge, those with tetrahedral geometry (in uncoordinated states) show a higher degree of specificity for the surface than the trigonal planer anions. Without exception, each bidentate bridging complex forms by replacement of protonated and unprotonated hydroxyls. With the anion geometry and the charge being equal, the suspension pH determines the adsorption capacity of the hydrous oxide.

The surface and charge characteristics of 6 allophanic clays originating from a climatosequence of Andisols have been studied by titration, ion retention, surface area, and reactivity measurements. Several properties of these clays, such as the pH of zero charge, the magnitude of the surface area, and the reactivity of structural hydroxyl groups, appear to be governed by their chemical composition, especially by their silica content. A similar relationship between the above properties and silica content also exists for synthetic aluminosilicate gels (often quoted in the literature as possible models of allophanes), despite their different structure to the natural clays. An explanation is that as desilication proceeds, octahedral polymeric units of aluminum progressively individualize in both the synthetic and natural samples. The surface areas of the aUophanic clays, based on the slope of the titration curve at pH 7, are closely related to the amounts of structural hydroxyl that can react with fluoride at about the same pH. The permanent negative charges are always very low, even for silica-rich, allophane-bearing samples. It is therefore suggested that all of these clays should be virtually free of tetrahedral aluminum.

The diffusion of exchanged Yb, Ho, and Eu from interlayer positions in montmorillonite was studied using infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray powder diffraction, and cation-exchange measurements. Dehydration of exchanged montmorillonite between 100° and 280°C caused the ions to diffuse into the hexagonal rings of surface oxygens. Subsequent migration into vacant octahedral sites was small regardless of the radius of the cation. Considerable ion fixation in excess of the cation-exchange capacity of the clay was observed at 20°C in both water and a 1:1 water:95% ethanol mixture. Evidence for hydrolysis as a possible mechanism for cation fixation was obtained by observing frequency shifts for deuterated hydroxyl groups using IR spectroscopy. A major IR band centered at 2680 cm−1 was observed for all three lanthanide-exchanged montmorillonites studied and assigned to the OH-stretching frequency of a lanthanide hydroxide. This band intensified on heating at 300°C for 1 hr. An IR band between 690 and 710 cm−1 also was observed for all three lanthanide-exchanged montmorillonites and was assigned to a lanthanide-hydroxyl deformation mode. No hydrolysis was observed for Na-montmorillonite, as expected from the very low hydration energy of Na+.

Imogolites in which a part or all of Si was substituted with Ge were synthesized from solutions containing aluminum ion and silicic and/or germanic acid. The products were similar to natural imogolite in their tubular morphology, electron diffraction patterns, and differential thermal analysis curves. However, the external diameter of the tube increased with increasing Ge substitution up to about 33 Å, and associated changes appeared in the X-ray powder diffraction patterns, suggesting that the substitution of Ge for Si caused a decrease in the curvature of the gibbsite sheet with which SiO- or GeO-tetrahedra are associated. Infrared absorption bands at 995 and 930 cm−1 in imogolite disappeared and new bands appeared at 910 and 810 cm−1 on substitution of Ge for Si, whereas those in the region between 700 and 300 cm−1 remained unchanged or changed little. The former two bands were assigned to Si-O vibrations and the latter bands to Al-O vibrations.

The acid-catalyzed reaction between methanol and isobutene to give methyl-t-butyl ether may be carried out using a cation-exchanged smectite as the catalyst. In 1,4-dioxan solvent at 60°C smectites exchanged with Al3+, Fe3+, or Cr3+ give yields of ∼60% after 4 hr, whereas smectites exchanged with Cu2+, Pb2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Ca2+, and Na+ give less than ∼8% yield. The reaction is efficient only when certain solvents are used, e.g., with Al3+-smectite the yield is ∼5% when using 1,2-dimethoxyethane, diethyleneglycol diethylether, n-pentane, tetrahydropyran, N-methylmorpholine, or tetrahydrofuran solvents compared with ∼60% using 1,4-dioxan solvent (4 hr). Moreover, the effective solvents depend somewhat on the clay interlayer cation. The use of tetrahydrofuran and tetrahydropyran gives ∼35% yields at 60°C (4 hr) with Fe3+- or Cr3+-smectites but ∼4% yield with Al3+-smectite.

Uranyl acetatye solutions, ranging in concentration from about 100 ppm to 3700 ppm, were re-acted with the Na-, K-, and Ca- forms of zeolite A. The crystalline products from the Na- and K-A zeolites resembled compreignacite (K2O·6UO3·11H2O) and from the Ca-A, becquerelite (CaO·6UO3·11H2O). With higher concentrations of uranyl acetate, only X-ray-amorphous products were obtained. The compreignacite-like products gave sharp X-ray powder diffraction patterns and were indexed with orthorhombic, quasi-hexagonal unit cells which showed a significant variation of the axial ratio b/a from values just greater than, to values just less than √3. The becquerelite-like phase was always accompanied by unreacted zeolite. Compreignacite was synthesized from uranyl acetate and KOH solutions at room temperature over a period of several days.

The adsorption of sodium, chloride, and phosphate ions by allophane, imogolite, and halloysite has been studied in relation to the surface structure of the mineral samples. The high adsorption of phosphate (>200 μmole/g) and chloride (10–30 meq/100 g at pH 4) by allophane is ascribed to the small particle size of allophane, its high surface area (∼800 m2/g), and the presence at the surface of Al-OH-Al groups and defect sites. In contrast, halloysite has a relatively large particle size and a Si-O-Si surface. Accordingly, the adsorption of phosphate (5–10 μmole/g) and chloride (1 meq/100 g) by halloysite is very much lower as compared with allophane. Phosphate adsorption by halloysite is also related to particle morphology and the number of edge sites. Thus, a sample consisting entirely of spheroidal particles adsorbed only 5 μmole/g at a solution concentration of 1 × 10−4 M, whereas the tubular types of comparable surface area adsorbed 7–10 μmole/g at the same concentration. This is because spheroidal halloysite particles have few, if any, edge sites at which phosphate can adsorb. The relative degree of order and hydration of halloysite, as indicated by infrared spectroscopy, also affects phosphate adsorption. However, this factor is apparently less important than particle morphology and surface structure. Although imogolite also has an Al-OH-Al surface, it contains relatively few defect sites where phosphate can adsorb. Consequently, much less phosphate (120 μmole/g) was adsorbed as compared with allophane.