BASELINE STUDIES OF THE CLAY MINERALS SOCIETY SOURCE CLAYS BY X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the chemical analyses of the Clay Mineral Society Source Clays based on X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. This technique does not require any detailed sample preparation and is therefore easy to perform. In contrast to other common chemical analytical techniques fluorine and chlorine can be analysed together with all the major elements. In addition, the high resolution spectra reveal some details about the local environment of different cations in the clay structure, such as the presence of water, distinction between octahedral and tetrahedral aluminium and the presence of two types of Mg in the octahedral sheets.