Transformation Mechanisms and Interstratification in Conversion of Smectite to Kaolinite: An HRTEM Study

Abstract The transformation of smectite into kaolinite and kaolinite-smectite interstratification were studied in samples belonging to the Argiles Plastiques formation of the Paris basin, by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Two original smectite phases, 1) beidellite with 1-nm-thick layers, and 2) beidellite-montmorillonite with 1.25-nm-thick layers, are progressively transformed into kaolinite-smectite mixed-layer minerals, and into kaolinite. As the percentage of kaolinite layers increases in the interlayered minerals, the kaolinite-smectite layer sequences, initially disordered, become locally more ordered, with the presence of KS and KKS units repeated 2 to 4 times (K = kaolinite layer, S = smectite layer). Two solid-state mechanisms seem to be responsible for the formation of kaolinite: 1) the transformation of 1 smectite layer into 1 kaolinite layer, denoted S → K, by stripping of a tetrahedral sheet and the adjacent interlayer region; 2) the intercalation of 1 kaolinite layer into smectite, denoted 0 (zero)→K. Structural and chemical incidences of these mechanisms are discussed.