Subject Geology

Paper No and Title Crystallography and Mineralogy

Module No and Title Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
Module Tag Min XIVa

Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator Co-Principal Investigator

Prof. Talat Ahmad Prof. Devesh K Sinha Prof. P. P. Chakraborty
Vice-Chancellor Department of Geology Department of Geology
Jamia Millia Islamia University of Delhi University of Delhi
Delhi Delhi Delhi
Paper Coordinator Content Writer Reviewer

Prof. Naresh C. Pant Prof. Naresh C. Pant Prof. Santosh Kumar

Department of Geology Department of Geology Department of Geology
University of Delhi University of Delhi Kumaun University
Delhi Delhi Nainital

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Table of Content
1. Learning outcomes
2. The classification of silicates
3. Structure and chemistry

1. Learning outcomes

After studying this module, you shall be able to:

 To develop a basic understanding of chemical co-ordination leading to

formation of minerals with various structures.
 To understand the variety of feldspars.
 To develop appreciation of conditions of formation for alkali- and
plagioclase feldspars.

2. The classification of alumino-silicates based on SiO4 tetrahedron

Silicon is known to be the second most abundant element after oxygen forming the
Earth’s crust and mantle. Silicate minerals predominate vast majority of rocks of the
Earth’s crust as the Si-O bond is considered to be stronger than any other bond
prevalent amongst oxygen and any other element. As the [SiO4] tetrahedral
dominate silicate structures, the way it arranges itself within a particular structure
has long been the way of silicate classification. [SiO4] tetrahedral are either isolated
from each other or connected by corner sharing to other [SiO4] tetrahedra. The
different frameworks provided by variable corner sharing tetrahedra with other
cations fitting into suitable interstices provided by this frame work defines the
various types of silicate structures This framework of cations and [SiO4] tetrahedra
is of prime importance in understanding the way in which a mineral would adapt to
changes in its physical and chemical environment. Many silicate minerals also show
substitution of Al for Si in the tetrahedron which is accompanied by compensating
replacement in cation content to maintain charge neutrality.

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Based on the number of the [SiO4]4- units connected to a single oxygen, silicates has
been classified into 6 classes. All these classes represent a unique arrangement of
[SiO4]4- units in the packing of mineral. The Si-O bond lengths and the O-Si-O bond
angles determine the shape of the tetrahedron. The X-ray diffraction and neutron
diffraction has revealed following things about the tetrahedron:

1. The mean Si-O bond length is 1.62 A. The presence of other cations in the
vicinity of the Si-O bond tends to attract the oxygen hence leading to the
extension in Si-O bond length. Due to this property, the bond length varies
between 1.60 A to 1.34 A.
2. When the tetrahedra is in a structural bond, the bridging oxygen is longer
than by about 0.025 A compared with the non-bridging oxygen.
3. The bond angle in Si-O-Si can vary between about 120 to 180º, depending
on the local structural environment as well as the temperature and pressure.
The bond angle of a strain free Si-O-Si bond is near 140º.

3. Structure and chemistry

3.1 Framework Silicates

All tetrahedra share corners with other tetrahedra, having four bridging oxygens
per tetrahedron. The Si:O ratio is 1:2, as in quartz SiO2. If Si is not substituted
with any other cation, then all the valence bonds are satisfied and the entire
framework has the composition of SiO2 (for example, quartz). However when Al
substitutes for Si in the tetrahedra, charge balance is required in the tetrahedron.
This results in varied bond lengths, which creates rather large interstitial cation
sites, compared to those in other chain silicate minerals.

At high temperatures, framework silicates have more expanded structures with

the maximum symmetry allowed by the tetrahedral linkage pattern. At lower
temperatures, they tend to crumple slightly, reducing the size of the interstitial
cavities where any cations would be sited. The crumpling of the structures is
achieved by a rotation of the SiO4 tetrahedra.
Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy
GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 3.1.2 The feldspars

The feldspars have a general; formula MT4O8 with between 25% and 50% of the
Si replaced by Al in the T sites, and the M sites occupied by ions such as Na+,
K+, Rb+, Ca2+, Sr2+ or Ba2+. The composition of most natural feldspars lies in the
KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 – CaAl2Si2O8 triangle, in which the shaded region
represents the extent of high temperature solid solution.

Sanidine, KAlSi3O8, shows an ideal high temperature feldspar structure. The Al

and Si are distributed at random so that the average occupancy of each
tetrahedron is 25% Al and 50% Si. The basic construction of the framework is of
ring of four tetrahedra with alternate pairs of vertices pointing in opposite
directions.

In the real structure of high sanidine, there is some rotation of the tetrahedra. The
structure is monoclinic; space group is C2/m and has the highest symmetry
possible in the feldspars.

Fig. 1 The extent of solid solution in alkali and plagioclase feldspars at high
temperature.
Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy
GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Fig. 2 The basic building unit of the feldspar structure is the four-membered ring of
tetrahedra with a pair of tetrahedral pointing up and a pair pointing down, (b) The
four-fold rings are joined to form a layer in which the rings are related by mirror
planes parallel to (010) and diads parallel to the b axis. Two sets of individual
tetrahedra are distinguishable in this layer, and are labelled T1 and T2. The T1
tetrahedra are all related to one another by symmetry, as are the T2 tetrahedra.
Cations occupy the large oval-shaped cavities between the rings.

Structural distortion and Al, Si ordering in the feldspar structure:

1. As the temperature falls, the expanded high temperature framework tends to
collapse around the interstitial cation. Larger cations such as K or Ba, resists
the collapse, keeping the framework extended. However smaller cations, Na
and Ca, are not able to resist the collapse, hence allowing the framework to
distort, reducing the symmetry to triclinic.

2. At lower temperatures, the Al, Si tetrahedral tend to order the structure.

However, it is an extremely slow process in comparison to the structural
distortion, involving breaking very strong Al-O and Si-O bonds.

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 3. The structural distortion is strongly dependent on both Al and Si. For
example, the C1 site contains four different T sites, but when it expands to
C2/m structure, there are only two distinguishable T sites. The conversion
from one structure is result of complete loss of one structure before the
formation of another structure.

(a) (b)

Fig. 3 (a) In sanidine, KAlSi3O8, the oxygen coordination around K+ is symmetrical

and the unit cell is monoclinic (α=90º). (b) In high albite, NaAlSi3O8, the oxygen
coordination around Na+ is distorted and the unit cell is triclinic (α=93.4º). The
position of Na+ ion is smeared over a number of positions and hence represented by
an ellipsoid. The number on each oxygen atom is the cation – oxygen distance in
Angstrom unit (after Liebau, 1985).

The alkali feldspar:

Albite, NaAlSi3O8 is monoclinic C2/m above 980ºC (monalbite) but collapses

around the small Na atom to the triclinic C1 structure below this temperature. At this
stage there is little Al, Si ordering, hence it is called high albite, but below 700ºC Al,
Si ordering begins and can proceed without any further symmetry change until at
low temperature low albite is formed.

The Sanidine: High Albite Series

Complete solid solution series: KAlSi3O8 – NaAlSi3O8 can be synthesized in the lab,
but only KAlSi3O8 exists in nature. The K-end member is called high sanidine and
the Na end member is called high albite.
Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy
GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Crystallography: High sanidine is monoclinic, but high albite is triclinic.

High Sanidine Sanidine Anorthoclase High Albite

α 1.518-1.521 1.518-1.524 1.524-1.526 1.526-1.526
β 1.523-1.525 1.522-1.524 1.529-1.532 1.532-1.533
γ 1.524-1.526 1.522-1.530 1.530-1.534 1.534-1.541

In the plane polarized light, it have euhedral square shaped or elongated parallel to
x-axis. It is colorless and non-pleochroic. Perfect basal and pinacoidal cleavage is
present. Under cross polars, it shows very weak birefringence and is anisotropic. It
exhibits Carlsbad twinning. The occurrence of sanidine as phenocrysts in lavas of
silicic composition distinguishes it clearly. It occurs only in high K-lavas, or as a
product of contact metamorphism in xenoliths within basalts.

The Orthoclase-Low Albite Series

The complete miscible solution exists in this series. At low temperatures, it breaks
down to the nearly pure end-members. The initial intermediate members, upon
cooling become mixed and show lamellar structure called perthite.

Crystallography: The orthoclase are monoclinic with domains of triclinic.

Orthoclase Low Albite

α 1.518-1.520 1.527-1.530
β 1.522- 1.524 1.531- 1.533
γ 1.522-1.525 1.536-1.540

In thin section, anhedral grains are commonly seen. Relief is poor to moderate but
negative against araldite or quartz. It is colorless and non-pleochroic. It shows basal
and pinacoidal cleavage. Under cross polars, its anisotropic character is seen and the
birefringence is very weak. It shows first order first order polarization colors,
maximum upto first order grey. All members of this series commonly exhibit
Carlsbad twinning. These are mainly found in felsic igneous rock associated with
quartz, plagioclase, or nepheline.
Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy
GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 The Microcline- Low Albite Series

This series is represented by perthite in which hosts are K-rich end members and
lamellae are Na rich.

Crystallography: It is triclinic.

Monoclinic Low Albite

α 1.514-1.516 1.527-1.530
β 1.518-1.519 1.531-1.530
γ 1.521-1.522 1.536-1.540

Under plane polarized light, anhedral grains are common. Perfect basal or pinacoidal
cleavage is seen. It is colorless and non-pleochroic. It shows very weak
birefringence and shows polarization colors upto first order grey. It is twinned on
both albite and pericline laws. In felsic, igneous rock members of this series are
associated with quartz, plagioclase, or nepheline.

The plagioclase feldspar

In pure anorthite CaAl2Si2O8, the small Ca atom is unable to support the expanded
monoclinic C2/m structure at any temperature below the melting point. Similarly,
the tendency to order Si and Al in the tetrahedra is greater than in the alkali
feldspar, since the Si:Al ratio of 1:1 means that in a framework structure any
amount of disorder results in the formation of Al-O-Al linkages. In pure anorthite,
this disordering temperature is estimated at above 2000°C, well above the melting
point. Ordered anorthite is triclinic with space group II. Partial disordering is
allowed in anorthite while retaining the II symmetry, and up to 20% disorder may
be induced by annealing anorthite just below its melting point. There is complete
solid solution between albite (An0) and anorthite (An100) above about 700°C, the
result of the substitution Na++ Si4+ = Ca2+ Al3+.

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Fig. 4 Summary of the stability regions of the various feldspar structures in the
plagioclases. At high temperature, the phase boundaries between C2/m, C1̄ and I1̄
are truncated by the melting curve. At low temperatures, the shaded areas represent
regions in which the plagioclase consists of intergrowths barely visible by optical
microscopy (after Carpenter, 1987).

Crystallography: Triclinic

Low Albite Anorthite

α 1.527-1.530 1.577
β 1.531-1.530 1.585
γ 1.536-1.540 1.590

In thin sections, under plane polarized lights, it is colorless and non-pleochroic.

While under cross polars, it shows very weak birefringence and upto first order grey
polarization colors. It follows albitic, pericline and Carlsbad twin laws.

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 The Cordierite:

The structure of cordierite is based on the six-fold rings of Al, Si tetrahedral (termed
the T2 tetrahedra) joined laterally and vertically by T1 tetrahedra, which may also
contain Al or Si. The Mg or Fe cations occupy octahedral sites between the rings.
Layers are vertically stacked above one another so that the rings form infinitely long
channels parallel to the c axis. In each unit cell, there are 9 tetrahedra: 3T1 and 6T2
tetrahedra over which the 4Al and 5Si atoms tends to be distributed. If Al and Si are
randomly distributed in all the 9 sites, the resultant structure is hexagonal and each
site has occupancy 4/9 Al and 5/9 Si. Natural hexagonal cordierite is called indialite.

Fig. 5 One layer of the structure of cordierite showing the showing the six-fold rings
of tetrahedra, labelled T2 connected via the tetrahedra labelled T1. The Mg2+ cations
lie in the octahedral sites (reproduced after Putnis).

Frequently Asked Questions-

Q1. Describe the order-disorder in feldspar?

Q2. Discuss the solid solution in feldspars and reasons of its temperature
dependence?
Q3. How the structure of feldspars and its crystallographic axes are related?

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Multiple Choice Questions-

1. Sanidine is
(a) Alkali-feldspar
(b) Plagioclase
(c) Feldspathoid
(d) None of the above
Ans: a

2. The bond angle of a strain-free Si-O-Si in tectosilicates is

(a) ~100°
(b) ~120°
(c) ~140°
(d) ~180°
Ans: c

3. The number of tetrahedral sites in feldspar are

(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4
Ans: d

4. At high temperatures alkali feldspar are

(a) Monoclinic
(b) Triclinic
(c) Hexagonal
(d) Trigonal
Ans: a

5. This form of feldspar shows highest disorder in tetrahedral site

(a) Low-albite
(b) Microcline
(c) Sanidine
(d) High-albite
Ans: c

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group
 Suggested Readings:

1. Klien, Cornelis and Hurlbut, Cornelius S., (1985). Manual of Mineralogy

(after James D. Dana), 20th Edn. John Wiley & Sons, New York. ISBN:
0471805807, 978-0471805809.
2. Putnis Andrew (1992), An Introduction to Mineral Sciences, 1st Edn.,
Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN: 0521429471, 978-0521429474.

Paper: Crystallography and Mineralogy

GEOLOGY
Module: Tektosilicates- Feldspar Group