Quantitative Measurement of Paramagnetic Fe3+ in Kaolinite

A method is proposed to measure the absolute concentration of paramagnetic Fe3+ ions in kaolinite from various geochemical environments using powder X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data. An Fe3+-doped corundum sample is used as a concentration standard. The Fe3+ signal is calibrated by calculating the powder EPR spectra of Fe3+ ions in corundum and low-defect kaolinite. The paramagnetic Fe3+ concentration in other samples is obtained by an extrapolation procedure. This study provides a direct assessment of the iron distribution between isolated structural Fe3+ ions and other iron species, such as Fe3+ concentrated phases and Fe2+ ions. The concentration of isolated structural Fe3+ ranges between 200–3000 ppm and represents less than half of the total iron within kaolinite crystals.