XRD, IR and ESR study of experimental alteration of Al-nontronite into mixed-layer kaolinite/smectite

Abstract The formation of kaolinite from Al hydroxy interlayered Garfield nontronite has been carried out at 225°C in hydrothermal conditions. The kaolinitization process, which proceeds through mixed-layer kaolinite/smectite intermediates, was followed by XRD, IR and ESR spectroscopy, chemical analysis and charge properties. The smectite content of the clay products decreases regularly with the duration of the hydrothermal treatment. The CEC and the structural Fe content of the deferrated products show a similar trend. IR features specific to nontronite disappear and are barely detectable as the smectite content of the mixed-layer clay falls below 30%. In contrast, the ESR spectrum of nontronite is characterized by a broad g2 signal that remains even after prolonged hydrothermal treatment. The calibration of the g2 ESR signal, due to Fe-smectite, shows that the synthetic kaolinites have low Fe contents (∼ 1% Fe2O3) indicating that the kaolinitization process involves destruction of the 2:1 layers and the subsequent neoformation of kaolinite and Fe oxides. As illustrated by the study of deferrated soil clay samples, representing a weathering sequence Fe-smectite → kaolinite + Fe oxides, ESR spectroscopy proved to be a powerful Fe probe for detecting Fe-rich smectite in kaolinite/Fe-smectite mixed-layer clays.