What is a phyllosilicate in mineralogy ?

Phyllosilicates : definition

Phyllosilicates (from the Greek phyllon, sheet) are, as their name suggests, composed of sheets of SiO4 tetrahedra, each tetrahedron being linked to the others by three of its vertices, cations, and often a water molecule. From this structure, they have inherited an excellent cleavage which allows them to be disintegrated into thin, often flexible and elastic strips.

Phyllosilicates are rich in about 180 minerals including clay minerals (kaolinite, montmorillonite, illites, smectites...), micas (biotite, muscovite, phlogopite, lepidolite...), talc, chlorites, serpentines.

They constitute a major subclass by their geological importance : they are indeed very often the products of the alteration of rocks and are found in the soils for which they are responsible for the characteristics, and by their numerous industrial applications.

Phlogopite from Betroka, Anosy, Tuléar Province, Madagascar
Star muscovite from Genipupo, Itinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Lepidolite from Barra de Salinas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

ReCaptcha

This service is used to secure web forms of our website and required if you want to contact us. By accepting it you agree to Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a service used on our website that tracks, reports traffic and measures how users interact with our website content in order for us to improve it and provide better services.

Facebook

Our website allows you to like or share its content on Facebook social network. By activating and using it you agree to Facebook's privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies/

YouTube

Integrated videos provided by YouTube are used on our website. By accepting to watch them you agree to Google's privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Twitter

Integrated tweets and share services of Twitter are used on our website. By accepting and using these you agree to Twitter's privacy policy: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-cookies

PInterest

Our website allows you to share its content on PInterest social network. By activating and using it you agree to PInterest's privacy policy: https://policy.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy/