Structural Effects of Aluminum and Iron Occupancy in Minerals of the Jarosite-Alunite Solid Solution.

ABSTRACT: The alunite supergroup of minerals contains several hydroxysulfate mineral phases that commonly occur in acidic natural and engineered environments. The main division of the mineral supergroup defines two minerals, jarosite and alunite, based on the relative structural occupancy by Al or Fe, respectively. However, intermediate members of the jarosite-alunite solid solution have not been extensively characterized, especially in the environment. Here, we link the mineral unit cell sizes measured by X-ray diffraction, peak shifts in Raman spectra, fitting parameters in Mössbauer spectroscopy, and elemental quantification by EDX spectroscopy to known amounts of Al substitution in two synthetic series of Al-substituted jarosite (up to Al-for-Fe substitution of 9.5%) and unknown Al substitution

SUBMITTER: Grigg ARC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10875661 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature