Illite, also called hydromica or hydromuscovite, [6] is a group of closely related non-expanding clay minerals. Illite is a secondary mineral precipitate, and an example of a phyllosilicate , or layered alumino-silicate.

May 1, 2023 · Illite has a layered crystal structure that consists of sheets of silicon, oxygen, and aluminum that are held together by water molecules. Illite is a type of phyllosilicate mineral that has a high cation exchange capacity and can absorb and exchange ions with its surroundings.

Illite is a very common mica and clay mineral, typically found as extremely fine-grained masses of grayish-white to silvery-gray, sometimes greenish-gray, material. The literature on "illite" is very large as it is a widespread component of many sediments, especially marine; despite this it is poorly defined and variably considered a mineral ...

Illite. Comments: Wispy, authigenic illite crystals lining a pore space in sandstone. SEM image from a core sample. Location: Unknown. Scale: Picture size 33 µ-m. © OMNI Laboratories, Inc

Illite is essentially a group name for non-expanding, clay-sized, dioctahedral, micaceous minerals. It is structurally similar to muscovite in that its basic unit is a layer composed of two inward-pointing silica tetragonal sheets with a central octahedral sheet.

Illite is a common clay mineral that is found in a variety of geological environments, including sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks, and soils. Illite is a non-expanding clay mineral, which means that it does not swell when wet.

Illite is defined as a dioctahedral 2:1 phyllosilicate commonly found in soils and sedimentary rocks. It is a type of clay mineral with a non-expandable layer and various chemical compositions, often used as a series name due to its structural characteristics. AI generated definition based on: Developments in Clay Science, 2013

illite, any of a group of mica-type clay minerals widely distributed in marine shales and related sediments. Illite contains more water and less potassium than true micas, but it has a micalike sheet structure and is poorly crystallized.

The term ‘illite’ usually is used in its petrographic sense as a name for the K-rich, argillaceous component of sedimentary rocks, identified by ca. 1 nm spacing for its 001 X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak. At 30 percent, illite is the second most abundant mineral component of sedimentary rocks (after quartz, 34 percent).

Illite is the major potassium mineral among silicates in the surface environment. Potassium represents the only alkaline metal, to be bound in silicate structures during the great chemical reshuffling called weathering.