The hydrated calcium silicates riversideite, tobermorite, and plombierite

Abstract

In a recent paper Taylor has shown that three distinct hydration levels exist within the ‘calcium silicate hydrate (l)’ group of artificial preparations (Taylor, 1953 a , p. 168). The individual hydrates may be distinguished from the position of the 002 reflection in X-ray powder photographs. The d spacings corresponding to the three hydrates of this group examined during the present investigation are 14.6, 11.3, and 9.6 Å. These hydrates have H 2 O : SiO 2 molar ratios of approximately 2.0, 1.0, and 0.5 respectively. A recent examination of the minerals crestmoreite and riversideite (Taylor, 1953b) has shown that both these minerals are intimate inter-growths of members of the above hydrate series with the mineral wilkeite. Both the artificial preparations and the crestmoreite-riversideite intergrowths have failed to provide material suitable for detailed optical study.