Randomly interstratified illite-vermiculite from weathering of illite in red earth sediments in Xuancheng, southeastern China

Mixed-layer illite-vermiculite (I/V) clays of the Xuancheng red earth were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) methods. The XRD results indicated that the mixed layer I/V clays were characterized by the broad 10-14 angstrom peak with a maximum intensity at similar to 12 angstrom in air-dried sample, which decomposed into two peaks at 10 angstrom and 14 angstrom peaks respectively after ethylene glycol treatment. After K+ saturation, the 14 angstrom peak changed to 10 angstrom, which reverted back to 14 angstrom after saturation with Mg2+ with a notable decrease in intensity of the 10 angstrom peak. The broad 10-14 angstrom peak collapsed to 10 angstrom on heating to 400 degrees C. These suggested that the broad 10-14 angstrom peak resulted from randomly interstratified illite-vermiculite clays together with discrete illite and also vermiculite. HRTEM observation showed that straight 10 angstrom illite layers were interstratified with 12 angstrom vermiculite layers, suggesting that transformation of illite to vermiculite involves an exchange of K+ by hydrated cations associated with a swelling of the illite. The (060) spacing of I/V clay is 1.50 angstrom, indicating a dioctahedral precursor of illite and thus reinforcing the transformation from illite to vermiculite. FTIR analysis suggested that most band positions of vermiculite and illite in mixed-layer I/V did not change in comparison with those of the discrete clay species, indicating that the basic crystal structure of mixed-layer illite-vermiculite remains the same as the discrete clays. The interlayer cations in the interlayer region of vermiculite layers of the IN clays are mainly Ca and minor Mg, Al, and Fe. The abundant Ca makes the I/V clays to behave like I/S on glycolated and thermal treatment, while the Mg, Al, and Fe complex ions in the interlayer region cause the vermiculite layer to lose its expandability and to behave like chlorite. The mixed-layer I/V clays were widely formed in late Quaternary alluvial fans in subtropical to tropical areas, where the sediments experienced synchronous pedogenic modification. The syndepositional pedogenesis process leads to an incomplete transformation of illite to vermiculite and causes the formation of metastable intermediates of mixed-layer illite-vermiculite. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.