The vermiculite unit structure consists of sheets of trioctahedral mica or talc separated by layers of water molecules; these layers occupy a space about two water molecules thick (approximately 4.8 Å). Substitutions of aluminum cations (Al³⁺) for silicon cations (Si⁴⁺) constitute the chief imbalance, but the net charge deficiency may be partially balanced by other substitutions within the mica layer; there is always a residual net charge deficiency commonly in the range from 0.6 to 0.8 per O₁₀(OH)₂. This charge deficiency is satisfied with interlayer cations that are closely associated with the water molecules between the mica layers. In the natural mineral, the balancing cation is magnesium (Mg²⁺). The interlayer cation, however, is readily replaced by other inorganic and organic cations. A number of water molecules are related to the hydration state of cations located at the interlayer sites. Therefore, the basal spacing of vermiculite changes from about 10.5 to 15.7 Å, depending on relative humidity and the kind of interlayer cation. Heating vermiculite to temperatures (depending on its crystal size) as high as 500° C drives the water out from between the mica layers, but the mineral quickly rehydrates at room temperature to maintain its normal basal spacing of approximately 14 to 15 Å if potassium or ammonium ions are not present in the interlayer sites. It has been reported that some dioctahedral analogues of vermiculite occur in soils.

Smectite

The structural units of smectite can be derived from the structures of pyrophyllite and talc. Unlike pyrophyllite and talc, the 2:1 silicate layers of smectite have a slight negative charge owing to ionic substitutions in the octahedral and tetrahedral sheets. The net charge deficiency is normally smaller than that of vermiculite—from 0.2 to 0.6 per O₁₀(OH)₂—and is balanced by the interlayer cations as in vermiculite. This weak bond offers excellent cleavage between the layers. The distinguishing feature of the smectite structure is that water and other polar molecules (in the form of certain organic substances) can, by entering between the unit layers, cause the structure to expand in the direction normal to the basal plane. Thus this dimension may vary from about 9.6 Å, when there are no polar molecules between the unit layers, to nearly complete separation of the individual layers.

The structural formula of smectites of the dioctahedral aluminous species may be represented by (Al_{2 - y}Mg2+/y)(Si_{4 - x}Al_x)O₁₀(OH)₂M+/x + y · nH₂O, where M⁺ is the interlayer exchangeable cation expressed as a monovalent cation and where x and y are the amounts of tetrahedral and octahedral substitutions, respectively (0.2 ≤ x + y ≤ 0.6). The smectites with y > x are called montmorillonite and those with x > y are known as beidellite. In the latter type of smectites, those in which ferric iron is a dominant cation in the octahedral sheet instead of aluminum and magnesium, are called nontronite. Although less frequent, chromium (Cr³⁺) and vanadium (V³⁺) also are found as dominant cations in the octahedral sheets of the beidellite structure, and chromium species are called volkonskoite. The ideal structural formula of trioctahedral ferromagnesian smectites, the series saponite through iron saponite, is given by (Mg, Fe²⁺)₃(Si_{4 - x}Al_x)O₁₀(OH)₂M+/x · nH₂O. The tetrahedral substitution is responsible for the net charge deficiency in the smectite minerals of this series. Besides magnesium and ferrous iron, zinc, cobalt, and manganese are known to be dominant cations in the octahedral sheet. Zinc dominant species are called sauconite. There are other types of trioctahedral smectites in which the net charge deficiency arises largely from the imbalanced charge due to ionic substitution or a small number of cation vacancies in the octahedral sheets or both conditions. Ideally x is zero, but most often it is less than 0.15. Thus, the octahedral composition varies to maintain similar amounts of the net charge deficiency as those of other smectites. Typical examples are (Mg_{3 - y}□_y) and (Mg_{3 - y} Li_y) for stevensite and hectorite, respectively. [The □ denotes a vacant site in the structure. (Mg_{3 - y}□_y) indicates, therefore, that y sites out of three are vacant.]

Chlorite

The structure of the chlorite minerals consists of alternate micalike layers and brucitelike hydroxide sheets about 14 Å thick. Structural formulas of most trioctahedral chlorites may be expressed by four end-member compositions:

The unbalanced charge of the micalike layer is compensated by an excess charge of the hydroxide sheet that is caused by the substitution of trivalent cations (Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, etc.) for divalent cations (Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, etc.). Chlorites with a muscovite-like silicate layer and an aluminum hydroxide sheet are called donbassite and have the ideal formula of Al_4.33(Si₃Al)O₁₀(OH)₈ as an end-member for the dioctahedral chlorite. In many cases, the octahedral aluminum ions are partially replaced by magnesium, as in magnesium-rich aluminum dioctahedral chlorites called sudoite. Cookeite is another type of dioctahedral chlorite, in which lithium substitutes for aluminum in the octahedral sheets.

Britannica Quiz

(Bed) Rocks and (Flint) Stones

Chlorite structures are relatively thermally stable compared to kaolinite, vermiculite, and smectite minerals and are thus resistant to high temperatures. Because of this, after heat treatment at 500°–700° C, the presence of a characteristic X-ray diffraction peak at 14 Å is widely used to identify chlorite minerals.