Person: García Rivas, Javier
Loading...
First Name
Javier
Last Name
García Rivas
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Ciencias Geológicas
Department
Mineralogía y Petrología
Area
Cristalografía y Mineralogía
Identifiers
3 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Item Review and new data on the surface properties of palygorskite: A comparative study(Applied clay science, 2021) Súarez Barrios, Mercedes; García Rivas, Javier; Morales, Juan; Lorenzo, Adrián; García Vicente, Andrea; García Romero, EmiliaPalygorskite is a mineral used in a wide number of industrial sectors. Currently, there are hundreds of studies in which palygorskite is a part of different nanocomposites and bionanocomposites. The surface properties are essential for these applications, and in this work, an in-depth revision of these properties is done, showing that the high variability found cannot be explained only by the number of impurities or by differences in the analysis conditions. To further deepen the knowledge of the surface properties of palygorskite and palygorskitic clays, a comparative study of a wide group of high purity samples is also performed, and new data on these surface properties are provided with the determination of the specific surface area (SSA), micropore surface area (SSAμp), micropore volume (Vμp), external surface area (SSAEx), and mean equivalent pore diameter. Both the bibliographic data and new data show that SSA varies from a few tens of m2g−1 to almost 300 m2g−1, and the microporosity and external surface proportions also vary greatly. The experimental data obtained show that 1) ordinary soft vacuum conditions produce structural folding, which limits the accessibility to the inner part of the structural tunnels; 2) microporosity is related to the intra- and inter-fibre microporosity, depending first on the fibre size, because the shorter the fibre, the higher the partial accessibility to the entrance of the channels; 3) the crystal chemistry of the samples also influences the SSA because the Mg-rich terms, which have higher content of sepiolite polysome proportions in their structure as well as wider and more accessible intracrystalline channels than palygorskite polysomes.Item New data on the microporosity of bentonites(Engineering geology, 2022) Súarez Barrios, Mercedes; Lorenzo, Adrián; García Vicente, Andrea; Morales, Juan; García Rivas, Javier; García Romero, EmiliaThis comparative study on a very wide group of samples shows that the crystal size and crystalline defects of smectites influence microporosity of bentonite considerably more than previously considered. The smectite crystals and surface properties, including microporosity and micropore volume, were studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy and N2 adsorption, respectively. The specific surface area obtained varied between 25 and 278 m2g−1. The micropore area ranged between 6 and 76 m2g−1, and the external area ranged from 18 to 208 m2g−1. The external surface area was related to the size of the crystals in [001] direction because of the smaller particles with few stacked 2:1 layers have more basal surfaces accessible to the N2 molecules. However, the microporosity can be related to 1) the size of the crystals, owing to the partial ability of N2 to penetrate into the interlayer space, 2) the abundance of crystalline defects affecting the stacking of the 2:1 layers, and 3) the arrangement of the crystals forming particles, in which sub-parallel aggregates generate micro and mesopores. The study shows that these bentonites have pores in the full range, from smaller micropores (related to the crystalline structure in the interior of the interlayer) to micrometric macropores. The amounts of micro, meso, and macropores varied between samples but were similar and characteristic for samples from the same geological area.Item On the structural formula of smectites: a review and new data on the influence of exchangeable cations(Journal of Applied Crystallography, 2021) García Romero, Emilia; Lorenzo, Adrián; García Vicente, Andrea; Morales, Juan; García Rivas, Javier; Súarez Barrios, MercedesThe understanding of the structural formula of smectite minerals is basic to predicting their physicochemical properties, which depend on the location of the cation substitutions within their 2:1 layer. This implies knowing the correct distribution and structural positions of the cations, which allows assigning the source of the layer charge of the tetrahedral or octahedral sheet, determining the total number of octahedral cations and, consequently, knowing the type of smectite. However, sometimes the structural formula obtained is not accurate. A key reason for the complexity of obtaining the correct structural formula is the presence of different exchangeable cations, especially Mg. Most smectites, to some extent, contain Mg2+ that can be on both octahedral and interlayer positions. This indeterminacy can lead to errors when constructing the structural formula. To estimate the correct position of the Mg2+ ions, that is their distribution over the octahedral and interlayer positions, it is necessary to substitute the interlayer Mg2+ and work with samples saturated with a known cation (homoionic samples). Seven smectites of the dioctahedral and trioctahedral types were homoionized with Ca2+, substituting the natural exchangeable cations. Several differences were found between the formulae obtained for the natural and Ca2+ homoionic samples. Both layer and interlayer charges increased, and the calculated numbers of octahedral cations in the homoionic samples were closer to four and six in the dioctahedral and trioctahedral smectites, respectively, with respect to the values calculated in the non-homoionic samples. This change was not limited to the octahedral sheet and interlayer, because the tetrahedral content also changed. For both dioctahedral and trioctahedral samples, the structural formulae improved considerably after homoionization of the samples, although higher accuracy was obtained the more magnesic and trioctahedral the smectites were. Additionally, the changes in the structural formulae sometimes resulted in changing the classification of the smectite.