Powder x-ray diffraction study of a cryptomelane-type manganic acid and its alkali cation exchanged forms

Abstract

Cryptomelane-type manganic acid (CMA), H2Mn8O16 · 2.4H2O, with a theoretical cation exchange capacity of 2.70 meq/g, was prepared and its cation exchange properties were studied as a function of XM which is defined by the ratio of uptake in meq/g to the theoretical capacity. Plots of the corrected selectivity coefficients log KHM vs the fractional exchange M for alkali metal ions on a 2 × 2 type tunnel-structured manganic acid showed a gradual decrease in small XMM regions and a steep decrease in large XMM) were 0.92 for Li+, 0.74 for Na+ and K+, 0.67 for Rb+, and 0.44 for Cs+. These maximums have been attributed to steric limitation as well as a limit on the expansion of the crystal lattice. Some x-ray diffraction (XRD) data of alkali cation exchanged forms were in good agreement with the XRD data of synthetic alkali CMA phases as given in the cards by the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS). The lattice parameter a0 has been found to depend on the exchanged amounts and the nature of the cations involved, while the c0 value remained almost the same irrespective of the amount of exchange or the nature of the cations.