Layered minerals and materials are characterized by the frequent occurrence of stacking defects. In particular, interstratification (or mixed layering), which corresponds to the intimate intergrowth of layers differing by their layer thickness and/or internal structure, and stacking faults, both random and well-defined, are especially common. These defects strongly impact the reactivity of lamellar materials. They may record also the conditions of mineral (trans)formation.<br/>Determining the nature, abundance, and possibly the distribution of stacking defects in layered structures is thus an essential step of their structural characterization in the scope of understanding their reactivity. Over the last decades, modeling of X-ray diffraction profiles has proved to be a unique and precious tool allowing such a detailed structural identification of defective lamellar structures. This presentation will outline how our understanding of defective structures and mixed layers has improved over the last decade or so and describe some of the new perspectives opened by this improvement, in particular in relation with determination of mineral (trans)formation mechanism and material property determination.

Crystal structures of defective lamellar compounds and their X-ray identification: Insights into mineral reactions and material reactivity

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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