Hydrothermal preparation of a gehlenite hydrate · JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of...

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JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards-A. Physics and Chemistry Vol. 68A, No.5, Septe m ber- October 1964 Hydrothermal Preparation of a Gehlenite Hydrate Elmer 1. Ca rlson (May 11 , 1964) Hy droth ermal tr eat m ent of sy nthet ic gehl eni te (2CaO·AI,03·SiO,) or of vario ll s mixtur es of oxides, hy drat es, etc ., a ppr ox im at in g t he co mposition of ge hl cni t(', at 260 to 650 0 C, produ ced a hith crto unr e por ted co mpound hav in g t he composition 2CaO·A I, 0 3·SiO, ·H , O. Other phases, usua lly h yd ro garn et, were a lways prese nt in small amoun ts. A nat ural gehle nit e containing Fe,03 a nd MgO was partly converted to the samc hydrat e at 4.50 0 C. Th e co mpound 2CaO·AI,03 ·SiO,·8H,O was conver tcd to a hy dr ogarn ct at 250 oC, but Formed 2CaO·AI,03·S iO,·H,O at 350 °C. Th e new co mp ou nd has a body-c en te r ed cubic st ru ct ur e, with ao = 8.83 A. Th e ind ex of refr act ion is 1.628. An x-ray diffr actio n patte rn is given, a nd s omc s im ilarities b et ween CaO·AJ,0 3·S i02 ·H20 a nd the ternary co mp ound 4CaO·3AI,0 3- ·3 f1 ,O are poin te d out. 1. Introduction The mineral gehleni te is of relati vely un co mmon occ urr ence in n at ur e, but is a co mmon constitu ent of air -cooled bl ast -fmnace s lags and is present in some hi gh-alumina cements [1].1 Th e id eal formula is 2CaO.Alz03 ·Si02, but ot her oxid es , parti c ul arly MgO and 1<' e20 3, may be pr esent in solid soluLion , forming a gro up of minerals known as melilit es. From a pract ical standp oinL , gehle niL e usually has be en considered a useless const itu e nL of cements a nd slags, since iL r eacts very slowly with waLer and do es not haye ce lll entitious properties [1] . Th er e is ev idence, howe\-er, that glasses haying ihe oxide composition of gehleni Le are more reacti\ 'e with water than is Lhe cr ystalline mineral. lL b ee n shown by Locher [2] Lhat yiLreous slags in lhe geh- leni te area of Lhe sysLem deYelop cementiLiolis pr operLi es wh en act ivat ed wiLh lime, cem en t, or a nhydrite. Th e cemenLi tious pr operti es of such slags ha\'e b ee n att ribuLed, ttL in parL [2], Lo the so-c /1,Il ed gehle nit e hydr ale, 20a O.AI20 3 ·SiOz·8H20 , crysta l- lizing as hexagonal pl aies. This compound was fir st pr e par ed by Striitlin g, whose work was re port ed by Biissem [3] at the Symposium on the Chemistry of Cements (Stocl\ :holm, 193 8) . It ha s since been prepared by sm-eral inv est igator s, including the author, from various starting mat erials, at tempera- tures ranging from 1 to 50°C. E arly attempts to prepare it from gehlenit e wore un succcessful. Th e application of hy droth e rmal treatment to speed up the hydration r esult ed in form at ion of a hydrogal"ne t [4 ]. Crystallographic st udies [5, 6] indicate that th ere is no clo se st ru ct ural Telationship between gehlenite (cr ystallizing in the tetragonal system [1]) and the so-called gehleni te hydn1te. Durin g the co ur se of som e hydrothermal sL udi es in the system CaO-AI 203 -S i0 2 -H 20, the author obsen -ed a seri es of unidentifi ed x-ray difl'raction lin es in the 1 Figures in bracket s indicate the literat ur e references at the end of thi s paper. p owder patterns of several pr e paration s. Th e pres- e nL p aper gi\'es the r esul ts of expe rimental work leading to the conclusion t hat the n ew pattern is pr oduced by a hitherto unr eport ed "ge hlenite hy drat e," hay ing the composition 20aO·A1 2 03 ·Si0H 20 a nd crystallizing in the cubic system. 2. Materi a ls and Procedures Th e primary st :u-Lin g materials wero r eage nt grad e silicic acid, nluminu m hy dr oxid e, a nd calcium car- bon ate (low alkali). Glasses of various compositions wer e prepared by h eaLing the mixed raw m ater ials, in Lhe desired pr oporLions, in an electric furnace. Se\' eml pr ep ar aL ions were h eated below the fu sion LemperaLme ; Lhese are refen ed to below as "s inL er s." Sy nLheLic gehl e niL e was prepared in L hi s manner by heating the pr operly proportioned materials at about 1460 °0 . Th e product app ear ed to be abouL 95 pOl'cent gehle nit e by micr oscop ic examinati on. Th e compo und 2Ca O·Al 20 3·Si0 2 ·8fJ 20 W}),s pr epar ed in t wo ways: (1) by pr olonged tr caL me nt of a mi xt ure of calc ium hy dr ox id e and a lime-alu mi na-silica glass, in correct pr o porti ons, with w ater at room te mp era- ture; (2) by pr ec ipiLaLi on from a suspension of silicic acid in calcium aluminaLe solu tion, al so at room te mp erat ur e. A sample of naLural gehlelli te originally from Tyrol was used fo)" a few exper imenLs. Tho ro ck was fir st CJ ushed, treated with hy dr ochloric acid 1,0 re mo \'e most of a calcite i ntergrowLh , washed, dried, and pul verized before use. The x-ray difl"r act ion pa ttern was in close agreement with that obtained from the sy nth eL ic ge hl e ni te , except Lhat Lhe natural material showed addi tional weak lin es dn e to calcite. Chemical analysi s, howe\' e1" , revealed l. 8 percent of Fe20 3 and 3.7 percent of MgO, indi cat ing that the mine ral d eparted signifi ca nLly from the id eal gehlenite comp osition. With a few excep tion s, the hydrothermal Teactions were eff ected in 18-011 stainless-steel pr essure vessels (Mor ey bombs), the react ants bein g held in small pl at inum crucibles. Pr essur e was estimated from the temperature and the amount of wat er pr esent , 449

Transcript of Hydrothermal preparation of a gehlenite hydrate · JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of...

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH of the National Bureau of Standards-A. Physics and Chemistry Vol. 68A, No.5, September- October 1964

Hydrothermal Preparation of a Gehlenite Hydrate Elmer 1. Carlson

(May 11, 1964)

H ydrothermal t r eatment of syn t hetic gehleni te (2CaO·AI,03·SiO,) or of vari olls mixtures of oxides, hydrates, etc., approx imat in g t he composit ion of gehlcni t(', at 260 to 650 0 C, produ ced a hith crto unrepor ted co mpound hav in g t he composition 2CaO·A I, 0 3·SiO, ·H ,O. Ot her phases, usually hyd rogarn et, were always present in s mall a moun ts. A natural gehlenite containing Fe,03 and MgO was partly converted to the samc hydrate at 4.50 0 C . The compound 2CaO·AI,03·SiO,·8H,O was con ver tcd to a hydrogarn ct at 250 oC, but Formed 2CaO·AI,03·S iO, ·H ,O at 350 °C. The new compou nd has a body-cente red cubi c stru cture, with ao = 8.83 A. The index of r efract ion is 1.628. An x-ray diffraction pattern is g iven, and somc s imila ri t ies between CaO·AJ,03·S i02 ·H20 a nd the ternary co mpound 4CaO·3AI,0 3-·3f1 ,O a re poin ted out.

1. Introduction

The min eral gehlenite is of relatively unco mmon occurrence in nature, but is a common constitu ent of air-cooled blast-fmnace slags and is present in some high-alumina cements [1].1 The id eal formula is 2CaO.Alz03·Si02 , but other oxides, p articul arly MgO and 1<'e20 3, may be present in solid soluLion , forming a group of minerals know n as melilites. From a practical standp oinL , gehleniLe usually has been considered a useless co nst ituenL of cements and slags, since iL r eacts very slowly with waLer and does not haye celll ent itious properties [1] . Ther e is evidence, howe\-er, that glasses haying ihe oxide composition of gehleniLe are more reacti\' e with water than is Lhe crystalline mineral. lL h ~1,S b een shown by Locher [2] Lhat yiLreous slags in lhe geh­lenite area of Lhe sysLem C~1,0-Al 203-Si02 deYelop cementiLiolis properLies when activated wiLh lime, cement, or anhydri te.

The cemenLitious properti es of such slags ha\' e b een attribuLed, ttL J e~1sL in parL [2], Lo the so-c /1,Il ed gehlenite hydrale, 20aO.AI20 3·SiOz·8H20 , crystal­lizing as hexagonal plaies. This compound was first prepared by Striitling, whose work was reported by Biissem [3] at the Symposium on the Chemistry of Cements (Stocl\:holm, 1938) . It has since b een prepared by sm-eral investigators, including the author, from various starting materials, at tempera­tures ranging from 1 to 50°C. E arly attempts to prepare it from gehlenite wore unsucccessful. The application of hydrothermal treatment to sp eed up the hydration resulted in formation of a hydrogal"net [4]. Crystallographic studi es [5, 6] indicate that there is no close stru ctural Telationship between gehlenite (crystallizing in the tetragonal system [1]) and the so-called gehlenite hydn1te.

During the course of some hydrothermal sLudi es in the system CaO-AI20 3-Si02-H20 , the author obsen -ed a series of unidentifi ed x-ray difl'raction lin es in the

1 Figures in brackets indicate the literature references at the end of this paper.

p owder patterns of several preparations. The pres­enL p aper gi\'es the results of exp erimental work lead ing to t he conclusion that the new pattern is produced by a hitherto unreported "gehlenite hydrate," h aying the composition 20aO·A120 3·Si02 ·

H 20 and crystallizing in the cubic system.

2. Materia ls and Procedures

The primary st:u-Ling materials wero r eage nt grade silicic acid, nluminu m hydroxide, and calcium car­bon ate (low alkali) . Glasses of various compositions wer e prepared by heaLing the m ixed r aw materials, in Lhe desired proporLions, in a n electric furnace. Se\'eml prep araLions were heated below the fu sion LemperaLme ; Lhese ar e r efen ed to below as "sinLers." SynLheLic gehl eniLe was prepared in Lhis manner by heating the properly proportioned materials at about 1460 °0 . The product app ear ed to b e abou L 95 pOl'cent gehlenite by micr oscop ic examination. The compound 2CaO·Al20 3·Si02·8fJ 20 W}),s prepar ed in t wo ways: (1) by prolonged tr caLment of a mixt ure of calcium hydrox ide and a lime-alu mi na-silica glass, in correct proportions, with water at room temp era­ture; (2) by precipiLaLion from a suspension of silicic acid in calcium aluminaLe solu tion , also at room temp erature.

A sample of naLural gehl elli te originally from Tyrol was used fo)" a few exper imenLs. Tho rock was first CJ ushed , treated with hydrochloric acid 1,0

r emo \' e most of a calcite i ntergrowLh, washed , dri ed, and pulverized b efor e use. The x-ray difl"raction pattern was in close agreement with that obtained from the syntheLic gehlenite, except Lhat Lhe natural material showed addit ional weak lin es dne to calcite. Chemical analysis, howe\'e1", r evealed l. 8 percent of F e20 3 and 3.7 p ercent of MgO, indicating that the mineral departed significanLly from the ideal gehlenite comp osition.

With a few excep tions, the hydrothermal Teactions were effected in 18-011 stainless-steel pressure vessels (Morey bombs), the reactants being held in small platinum crucibles. Pressure was estimated from the temperature and the amount of water present ,

449

TAB LE 1. H ydrothermal experiments on gehleni te and related compositions

Expt. Ox ide rat io Relative alTIoun t ~o. CaO:AhO"SiO , Sta rting materia l 'r em perature Pressure a Duration of isonletric Other phases presen t b ,

2: I : 1 Sinter .. ..... _ .................... _ .. ___ _ 2 : 1 : 1 ... __ do ____ ____ ____________________ ______ _ 2: l: L .______ ____ Synth. gehlenite __ . _____________________ . 2: 1: 1. . _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ Sinter . _____ __ _______ ____________ __ _ . __ ._ 2: 1: 1. . ___ __ ____ . Syn t h . gehleni te __ . ________________ .. __ ..

6 2: 1:1. . __ .. _ . . __ . Sinter .. . ... .... __ .. _._ .. _ ... .. ......... _ 7 2:1:1. ... .. .. . . _. Synth. gehleni te ... . _._ ... . _ . . .......... . 8 2 : 1: 1. ... .... __ ._ ... __ do .. ..... _._._ . ________ ___ .... _ .. __ ._ 9 2 :1: 1. ...... _ .. _. Katural geh lenite .... _ ....... _ .... _ ..... _

10 2: 1: L ...... _ .. _ .... __ do .. __ •.... _. _ .. _._ ... _ ............. .

11 2:1:1. ......... _ ...... do ..... _ . .... ... ..... _ . . _ . .... _._._ .. 12 2: 1: L . __ .. _._ ... 2CaO·Ah0 3·SiO,·8II,O .. _ . .. ..... __ . _ .. . 13 2: 1: L ... _ .. _ ....... _. do._ .. . .. .. . ..... _ . .. .. .. _ . ... __ • __ .. 14 2: 1: L ... _ . . _ . ...... _.do ... _ .. . _._ ._ . .. .. _ . . _ .. _ .. ____ ___ .. 15 2: 1: L ... _ . . _. ... M ixed oxides._ . . _ . .. _. __ ._ .. _ .. _ . . __ . __ .

16 2: 1: L .. _ .... _. _. . . . . do ._ .•. _. _. _ . .. __ .. ____ _ . _ ..... . ... . . 17 1.26: 1:1. .... _._. G1ass_ ... _ ..... ___ . ____ . . . ... . .. . .. . ... . . 18 1.5: 1: 1. .. ....... Sinter .. . _ ... _._._ ... _._ .. _ .. _. ____ ..... _ 19 2.5: 1: 1. ..... ..... _ . .. do ... _ ..... _._ ... _._ . .. ..... ___ ..... . 20 3: 1: 1. .. . _ .. _... . G1ass+Ca (OH),. _._._._._ ........ _ .. _ . . .

21 3:1:0.4 . .... _ .... Olass .... _ ............. _ .. __ ._ .. _ ... _._._ 22 3: 1: 1.2 .. _ .. _ . ... ... _ . do ........... _ ..... _ .. __ .. __ ___ ... _ . . 23 3:1:2 ....... _ O lass (devitr ified ) .. _ ... _ .. _ .. __ . _ ....... . 24 3:1:2._ ......... . ..... do ... _ ... ___ ._ ..... _ . . _ .......•... _ .. 25 3: 1: 2 ........... . .... do ... _ ..... _._ ... _._ .. _ ............. .

26 3:1:2 __ .. _ ....... D ehyd. kaolin+Ca(OII) , •... _._ ..... _._ 27 2: 1:0.5 ... _._ .. _. Sinter+Ca( OH), ................. _ .. _. __ 28 1.5: 1:0.5. __ ._ .... Sinter .. . .. _ . . . .. ....................... _

~6 1 g~tl __ ~::::::: :::::~~ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

°C 182 260 332 350 405

446 650 750 348 402

450 150 250 350 346

450 382 350 406 355

365 371 350 448 570

445 358 350 400 376

n E stimated from temperature and degree of fillin g, except for Nos. 7, 8, and 25 . b Relative amoun ts of phases es timated from intensities of strongest x-ray lines.

The symbols comlllOniy used for re lat ive intensit ies are here used to indicate estinlated amounts of phases prescnt. vs= very strong; s=strong; m = mediullI;

T emp erature was controlled to about ± 2 00. For hydrothermal treatment at temp eratures above 500 00, a Tuttle cold-seal apparatus was used. X­ray diffraction diagTams of the powdered prep arations were obtained on a diffractometer , using OuKa radiation .

.01\ 201 80

30/ \ 70 4 0 - 60

50/ 50

/ 60~ 0

0 40

t 0

0 . . 30 . . e CzAS •

80~ . . 0

• • 9<f- 10

0

cooL l .L AI,O, 10 20 30 4 0 50 60 70 80 90

FIG U R E 1. Compositions of com pounds and mixtures given hydrothermal treatment, shown in relation to the anhydrous system CaO- A120 3- SiO,. (Plotted on molar basis)

Filled circles: new phase (2CaO·Ah03·SiO,·H,O) observed in product Open circles: new phase not otserved in product.

phase b present

atm Days 10 37 nu._ ........ _._. llg(s); boh (m ) 45 37 ill. ____ __________ boh (s); hg (s)

125 20 vs. _______ . ___ . __ geh (m ); hg (w); boh r?) 160 16 VS ____ _________ ._ hg(w) 300 16 VS _______ _ . _. ____ geh (s)

400 16 vs ___ _________ __ _ hg(vw) 2040 3 vs __ . ____________ geh (vw) 2040 3 nd ._ ........ _ . . . geh(vs)

160 11 nd . __ . ... _ .... _. h g (s) 290 7 ? ---------- -- _. -- b g (vs)

400 11 In. ______________ bg (w) 5 34 nd ... _._ . ... . _ .. C,A SH ,(vs); h g( m)

40 34 nd ...•.... _ ..... bg(s); boh (s) 160 31 vs _________ . _. ___ bg (vw) 150 36 vs __ . ____________ bg (w)

420 35 VS ____ ___________ bg(w) 235 21 s .. ___ ___________ bg(vs) ; boh (s) 160 135 Ill . ________ . _____ hg (s); boh (w) 300 14 vs _______________ Ca(O H ),(s) 170 18 VS _______________ Ca(OH ),(s)

190 14 VS ________ .. _____ Ca(OU),(vs); C 4A3Ir,(s) 210 18 s ... _ .......... _. hg(m); Ca(OH), (w) 160 52 111 _______________ hg (s) 420 15 J11 _________ . ___ ._ hg (w)

1020 U 111 _____ . _________ hg (s)

400 7 nl _______________ hg(s) ; Ca(OH),(w) 180 28 s .. ____________ __ C4AJH 3(S) ; Ca(O H ),(w) 160 27 VS ____________ . __ C,A3H 3(m ); boh(w) 280 14 VS _______________ C4AJI'J, (m ) 220 20 vs __ _______ ______ C4AJI'h(w)

w=wcak; vw =very \veak; '!=too weak (or positive identification ; nd = Ilot detected.

°boh=boe hrnite; geh =gch lcnitc; h g=hydrogarnet; C ,A 3H J= 4CaO ·3AJ,0 3· 311,0; C,ASII, =2CaO·AI,03, SiO,·8 H ,O.

3. Results The new isometric phase has been observed in more

than 50 preparations obtained by hydrothermal treatment of various materials and mixtures, both hydrous and anhydrous, having compositions near the gehlenite r egion of the system OaO-Alz0 3-Si02 .

The location of the various compositions with refer­enc e to the ternary diagTam is shown in figure 1 . Table 1 gives data p ertaining to a number of these preparations, selected to show the effects of tem.­p erature, composition, and the nature of the starting mater ials. Elq>eriments 1 to 16 comprise a series in which the molar proportions OaO :Al20 3 :SiOz, wer e held at 2 :1 :1. Two types of synthetic anhydrous starting materials were used. The one r eferr ed to as "sinter " had been heated at about 1040 00, which is far below the temperature at which eomplet e reac­tion can b e expected. The "synt hetic gehlenite," in contrast, had b een heated at 1460 °0, and was estimated to b e about 95 percent gchleni te. On hydrothermal treatment, both typ es y ielded tho same hydration products, but the material which had been heated only to 1040 00 reacted more rapidly with water than did the well-crystallized gehlenite . Formation of the new isometric phase occurred in the temperature r ange 260 to 650 °0, but in no case was a pure produet obtained. Small amounts of hydrogarnet were detected in most of the reaction products. Variation in the x-ray line positions indicated an increase in t he silica content of tho hydrogarnet phase with increasing temperature, in agreement with results published previously [7].

450

The synthetic gehlenite was largely converted to the isometric hydrate by hydrothermal trcatment ftt 650°C, but not at 750 °C. At the latter temperature the irregulftI' gehlenite particles were trftnsformed to well formed crystals, but the x-ray pattern indicated no alteration in structure.

The sample of natuml gehlenite was pttrtly con­verted to the isometric hydrate at 450 °C, but not at 348 °C, only the hydrogarnet phase being formed at the latter temperature. The difference in behavior between the nfttural and the synthetic mftterials may reasonably be attributed to the presence of other components in the natural mineral, as dis­closed by analysis.

Experiments 12 to 14, in which the hexagonal gehlenite hydrate was treated hydrothermally for about a month, are of interest for two reasons. First, the low temperature hydrate underwent little or no alteration at 150 °C. A moderate amount of hydrogarnet was observed in the product, but the same phase was present in the starting material. Second, the low temperature hydrate was decom­posed to hydrogftrnet and boehmite at 250 °C, in­dicating that it is not converted to the high tempera­ture hydrate directly by loss of water. The new isometric phase was formed fLt 350 °C.

Mixtures of the hydrated oxides (experiments 15 and 16) also produced the new phftse along with small amounts of llydrogarnet.

The rest of the experiments listed in table 1 cover a range of oxide proportions other thftn 2: 1 : 1. J n Nos. 17 and 18, with the proportion of CaO reduced, the new phase was accompanied by larger amounts of hydrogarnet ftnd a considerftble quantity of boehmite. In Nos. 19 and 20 the excess Ii me appeared as Ca(OHh III the remainder of the experiments listed, the proportions of all three solid componen ts were varied. Here the phase relationships nftturally became rather complex. No attempt was made to define phase boundries, ftS the primary purpose here was to ascertain what proportions of oxides gave the best yield or the new phase. It is evident that the 2: 1 : 1 composition satisfied this condition better than any other investigated.

The last three experiments listed were designed to explore the area between the compositions repre­sented by the ox:ide proportions 2CaO:A1 20 3 :Si02

and 4CaO: 3A120 3, which is of interest because of certain similftrities between the new phase and the ternary compound 4CaO·3A120 3·3H 20. The X-ray patterns indicated that both phases were present in the products, with no detectable shift in position of the lines, and hence no evidence of solid solutioll.

The new isometric phase occurred typically as octahedral crystals, usually with rounded edges. Cubo-octahedra were also observed, and in some preparations some or the crystals were elongated into prisms. The index or refraction was found to be l.628 ± 0.003.

The water cont,ent or five of the more neftrly homogeneous prepamtions was determined from the loss on ignition. The results, in terms of moles of H 20 per mole or 2CaO.AI 20 3·Si02 , ranged from 1.00

451

to 1.19, averaging l.08. Preparations judged to be the most nearly homogeneous had the lowest water co ntents. :Most or the water was driven off between 550 and 750 °C.

The X-ray diffraction pftttern of one of the powdered preparations is given in table 2. The pat­tern indicated a body-centered cubi c structure, with ao = 8.83A. A pattern of a new preparation of 4CaO·3A120 ,·3H 20 is also given in the table to show the similarities between the s trongest lines or the two. Tungsten was used as internal s tandard in both cases. The pattern of 4CaO·3AI 20 3·3H20 is

TABLE 2. Interplanm' spac'ings oJ 2CaO·AI,Oo·Si02·1T20 and 4CaO·3AI!O, ·3 11 20

2CaO,A 1,0, ·8 iO,· II ,O - _._--_._---- - - ------

hkl

200 2 11

220

310

222

32 1 400

4H

420

332

422

510

52J

440

530

600

611

541 622

7.10

721 642

730

800

ao =8.83 it

d

A 4, 42 a,607

3, 122

2.7n3

2.549

2. 3,,0 2.208

2, 08 1

1. 974

I. 882

I. SO L

1.7:50

1.611

1. 559

1. 513

1, 470

1. 431

1.362 1. 330

1. 248

I. 201 I.li9

1.158

l.103

7 93

100

02

29 15

42

12

13

10

38

21

J3

11

A 0, ,,1 3,50 0.274 3, 207 0. 109 3. 029 2.849 2. 797 2. i41 2,61,1 2. 545 2. 419 2.086 2.354 2.290 2.225 2. 182 2. 1f>9 2, J07 2. 088 2. 07l 2.06" 2. 053 2. 019 l. 986 1. 970 1. 901 I. 914 I. 8:l8 I. 823 1. SO L I. 776 I. 738 1. 726 1. 68 l 1. 668 I. 643 I. 619 1. 601 I. 597 I. 572 I. 552 I. 540 I. 511 1. 486 I. 470 1. 466 I. 429 I. 416 1.096 l. 375 1. 367 I. 331 l. 008 I. 289 I. 224 1. 219 I. l85 1. 170 l. 167 1. 158 1. 116 1.113 1. 085 l. 083 l. 081

JOO 9

8l 3 5

28 5l ()()

4 Jl 22 2l 5 8

26 05

4 17 10 37 17 5 5 2 3 8 4 8 5 4 6 4 6 3 5 3 4 5

20 9

44 30

7 11 5 5 6 3 3 2 2 5 3 2

14 3 3 5 6 4 3 8 3 2 2 2

in ~air agreement with the one published by Majumdar and Roy [8], the chief difference beino' that the spacings given in table 2 are consistentl~ slightly greater. .

4 . Discussion

Even the most nearly homogeneous preparations of the new compound contained significant amounts of at least one other phase, most frequently hydro­garnet. This fact makes it impossible to state with certainty that the proposed fOlmula 2CaO·Al,O.· Si02·H20 actually is correct. The am~unt of hydr~­garnet present was estimated to be 10 percent or less in a few cases. Because of the nearness of the ?xide ratios in the two phases, the error introduced III the calculated composition resulting from the pl:esence of 10 l?ercen~ of hydrogarnet is relatively shght. In consIderatIOn of this fact, the iO'nition loss values lead to the conclusion that the ne; phase has the formula 2CaO·Alz03·Si02·H20. Thus it may be con~idered a hydrate of gehlenite.

The relatIve ease of preparation of this o'ehlenite hydrate raises the question as to why it was'=' not dis­covered earli~r. A. reexamination of the x-ray patterns obtame.d III a. previous investigation [7] showed ~hat the Is~metnc phase .was unquestionably present III many of the preparatIOns. Unfortunate­ly, it had been mistaken for the ternary compound. 4CaO.3Al20 3·3HzO, with which it usually was as~ sociated: . The x-ray patterns (see table 2) are some­what sImIlar. Many of the strono'est lines are p~'actically coincident, while others a~e shifted only slIghtly. It should be noted, also that diffraction diagrams of different preparations' of 4CaO·3Al20 3•

3Hz9 m~y VaI:y widely unless great care is taken to aVC!ld OrientatIOn effects when mounts are prepared. ThIS fact tended to obscure the siO'nificance of the differences that should have. bee~ recognized as anslllg from t~e pl'~sence of another compound. The patterns gIVen m table 2 were obtained on m?~nt~ of rowde~'s prepared in such a way as to mIl1lmiZe OrientatIOn effects; hence the differences b.etween the two patterns are more obvious. Op­tICally, the two phases are also similar the isometric phase having n = 1.628, while the 4:3:3 compound is very slightly birefringe!lt, with n (average) = ~.627 . Even lll. crystal habIt there is some similarity, III that the cubIc phase was observed in some cases to for!n prisms like those typical of the aluminate.

Owmg to these similarities, it was thouo'ht that there might be a structural relationship bet~een the ~wo phases. Exp~riments 27 to 30 (table 1) were mtended to permIt formation of an intermediate solid solution , but no evidence of such formation was observed,

(Paper 68A5- 292)

To the extent that the isometric phase was mis­t~kenly identified as 4CaO.3Alz03·3HzO, the data gIven and the conclusions drawn in the earlier work cited above [7] need to be modified. Z

The hydrothermal synthesis of gehlenite at tem­peratures as low as 450 °C has been reported recently [9], b~t no mentio~l. was made of a hydrate. The experimental condItIOns were somewhat different from those of the present work, in that calcium cll;rbon.ate was used as one of the starting materials , wI~h hme present as a receptor for the carbon di­OXIde evolved. Nevertheless from the data o'iven above, it would be expect~d that the iso~etric gehlenite hydrate, rather than gehlenite itself, would be formed at 450 ac. The reasons for the apparent conflict in results probably cannot be clarifi.ed without . ad~itional information regarding expenmental details m the work cited.

The existence of the high temperature gehlenite hydrate needs to be ~aken. into account in any future study of phase relatIOns III the system CaO-A120 3-Si02-HzO at elevated temperatures.

The author wishes to express his thanks to H. E. S~anson and coworkers for the x-ray diffraction dIagrams, and to C. R. Robbins for experimental runs in th~ cold-seal apparatus ; also to P . Desautels, of the NatIOnal Museum, who supplied the specimen of natural gehlenite.

. ~ rrh",c. c,orrcction applies to _tl:c fol1O\~ing ex periments rel?Orted in the paper Cited lil. In table4 , No,. 6and I; In tlblc 6, Nos. l n, 2! , ancl 26; III flgure2,the pOint Ht then ght encl orlhe curve . In each case the ph",e reported HS 4CaO·3A J,03·3H ,0 1 (C,A 3[13) actually was the iso metric phase, 2CaO·AI,03·S iO,.Ir,0.

5. References

[1) F. M. Lea, The chemistry of cement and concrete (Revised Edition of Lea and Desch) , (Edward Arnold London 1956) . ' ,

[2) F. W. Loch er, Hydraulic properties and hydra t ion of glasses of t he system CaO- Ab0 3- SiO" Proc. Fourth International Symposium on the Chemistry of Cement NBS Monograph 43, pp. 267- 276 (1962). '

[3) VV . Biissem, X - rays and cement chemistry, Proc. Sym­P?sium on t he Chemistry of Cements, Stockholm, 1938. (See p. 163) .

[4) H. ZUI' Strassen and W. Stratling, The reaction between burnpd kaolin and lime in aq ueous solution. II . The reaction products in relation to the system lime-s ilica­alumina-water. Z. anorg. allgem. Chem. 245, 267- 278 (1940) .

[5) N. Fratini and T. Turriziani, Co ntribution to the knowl­edge of a hydrated calcium silicoaluminate (Striitling's Compound) , (in Italian), Ric. Sci. 24, 1654- 57 (1954) .

[6) C. H. Schmitt, discussion of " Hydration of calcium aluminates and ferrites " , by F. E. Jones, Proc. Fourth International Symposium on th e Chemistry of Cemen t (Washington , 1960) p . 244.

[71 E. T. Carlson, Hydrogarnet formation in the syst em lime-alumina-silica-water, J. Res. NBS 56, 327- 335 (1956) .

[8) A. J. Majumdar and R . Roy, The system CaO- Al,0 3-H ,O, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 39 , 434-442 (1956). "

[9) lVI. Christophe-Michel-Levy, Hydrothermal synth esis of gehlenite, Ca,Al,Si07, (in French) Compt. r end. 255 2781- 2 (1962). ' ,

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