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Preparation of vermiculites for HRTEM

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

CH. Marcks
Affiliation:
Institut für Bodenkunde und Sonderforschungsbereich 173, der Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Straße 2, 3000 Hannover 21, Federal Republic of Germany
H. Wachsmuth
Affiliation:
Institut für Bodenkunde und Sonderforschungsbereich 173, der Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Straße 2, 3000 Hannover 21, Federal Republic of Germany
H. Graf V. Reichenbach
Affiliation:
Institut für Bodenkunde und Sonderforschungsbereich 173, der Universität Hannover, Herrenhäuser Straße 2, 3000 Hannover 21, Federal Republic of Germany

Abstract

A technique for preparing vermiculites for examination by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) has been developed. A TEM-stable expanded phase can be obtained by intercalating n-alkylammonium ions between the silicate layers of a parent biotite. The vermiculite particles were embedded in Spurr resin and centrifuged to improve orientation. Ultra-thin specimens were prepared using an ultramicrotome, the quality and thickness of the sections being monitored by TEM. Lattice images of biotite, Ba-vermiculite and octylammonium-vermiculite, the latter showing a perpendicular arrangement of the alkyl chains relative to the silicate layers, were obtained with a resolution ∼2 Å. The reliability of these images was confirmed by computer simulation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1989

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