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Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxide Formed at the Earliest Weathering Stages of K-Feldspar

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Clays and Clay Minerals

Abstract

Weathering products formed on the surface of K-feldspar in Yakushima Island, Japan were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD confirmed that the weathering products were composed mainly of gibbsite and halloysite. SEM, TEM and EDX clearly showed formation of amorphous aluminum hydroxide exhibiting 2 distinct habits: 1) curled fibrous or circular forms less than 0.02 μm in diameter; and 2) a spherical habit less than 1.0 μm in diameter. The fibrous aluminum hydroxide exhibited curled fibrous forms or circular forms less than 0.02 μm in diameter and gave a diffuse electron diffraction halo. EDX indicated that the material consisted mainly of Al and very small amounts of Si and Fe. The spherical aluminum hydroxide also gave similar EDX and electron diffraction characteristics to the fibrous material. These fibrous and spherical aluminum hydroxides must be formed as a metastable phase in the earliest weathering stages, and transformed into a stable phase of gibbsite and halloysite as the reaction proceeded.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890, Japan

    Motoharu Kawano

  2. Institute of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kagoshima University, 1-21-35 Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890, Japan

    Katsutoshi Tomita

Authors
  1. Motoharu Kawano
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  2. Katsutoshi Tomita
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Kawano, M., Tomita, K. Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxide Formed at the Earliest Weathering Stages of K-Feldspar. Clays Clay Miner. 44, 672–676 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.1996.0440510

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1346/CCMN.1996.0440510

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