A new crystal of aluminium pyrophosphate 18-hydrate, Al
4(P
2O
7)
3⋅18H
2O, was obtained by double decomposition from mixed aqueous solution of ammonium phosphate and ammonium alum in the pH range below 2.5. In the pH range 3-6, two different crystals of aluminium orthophosphates (A-type and B-type) AlPO
4⋅2H
2O, whose structures remain unknown, were obtained. The pure A-type crystal was able to be crystallized by this method, while the B-type was always acompanied by the A-type. We found that the pure B-type can be crystallized by autoclave treatment on amorphous precipitate from the mixed solution under the pressure of 10 atm. at 182°C. The physical and chemical properties of these new crystals were studied.
When aluminium orthophosphate crystals (A-type and B-type) were heated they became amorphous anhydrites after missing their crystallization water near 200°C. At about 400°C they changed directly to tridymite form AlPO
4 without passing quartz-form AlPO
4 (berlinite) even if no alkali existed at all, and holding for 2 weeks in the stable temperature range of berlinite caused no inversion to berlinite. The amorphous anhydrites changed also to cristobalite- form AlPO
4 at about 800°C. These cristobalite-form AlPO
4 obtained at relatively low temperatures had imperfect structures having enlarged lattice spaces.
The extra pure cristobalite-form AlPO
4 obtained by heating aluminium orthophosphates above 1, 350°C, did no more invert to tridymite-form or quartz-form AlPO
4, but with alkalis coexisted these inversions were able to take place smoothly.
Aluminium pyrophosphate crystal lost its crystallization water at about 180°C, and at a little higher temperatures some P
2O
5 vapourized from the amorphous anhydrate, which decomposed to aluminium metaphosphate Al(PO
3)
3 and cristobalite-form AlPO
4. At above 1, 050°C more vapourisation of P
2O
5 and decomposition of metaphosphate to cristobalite-form AlPO
4 occured.
On heating the pyrophosphate a new phase appeared prior to the metaphosphate and this coexisted with the metaphosphate and cristobalite-form AlPO
4 up to about 1, 000°C.
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