A multi-technique characterisation of cronstedtite synthetized by iron-clay interaction in a step by step cooling procedure

International audience; The cooling of steel containers in radioactive-waste storage was simulated in a step-by-step experiment from 90 to 40 degrees C. Among newly formed clay minerals observed in run products, cronstedtite was identified by a number of analytical techniques (powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy). Cronstedtite has not previously been recognized to be so abundant and so well crystallized in an iron-clay interaction experiment. The supersaturation of experimental solutions with respect to cronstedtite was due to the availability of Fe and Si in solution, as a result of the dissolution of iron metal powder, quartz, and m…