Phyllosilicates

Abstract

The basic unit of silicates, silicon tetrahedron, is linked to other tetrahedra by sharing all three basal oxygens in such a cyclic manner that these form a layer. The tetrahedral layer is linked to an octahedral layer which may consist of tri- or di- valent metal ions linked to six oxygens. Some of this oxygen may be shared with the tetrahedra. This combination is known as t-o sheet. This may be linked to other layers along z-direction. The manners of stacking of these layers are numerous giving rise to a large number of phyllosilicate species.