Removal of Potassium Alters b -Dimension of Muscovite

4 January 1963

journal article
other
Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science

Vol. 139 (3549) , 39-40
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.139.3549.39

Abstract

By treatment of muscovite with molten lithium nitrate at 300°C we have been able to remove a large portion of the interlayer potassium and observe a decrease in the apparent b-axis length as a function of potassium content over the range of 8.8 to 0.7 percent potassium. The b-axis length of Silversheen mica (a 2M₁ muscovite) decreases from 9.024 to 8.988 Å as the potassium content decreases from 8.79 to 3.31 percent. The contraction of the b-dimension results in an effective decrease in the size of the ditrigonal opening in the planar surfaces with a consequent increase in the d₀₀₁ upon re-saturation with potassium.

Keywords

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:

Surface Symmetry and Cell Dimensions of Layer Lattice Silicates
Nature, 1961
The structure of muscovite, KAl₂(Si₃Al)O₁₀(OH)₂
Acta Crystallographica, 1960