X-Ray Diffraction, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Optical Absorption Study of Bauxite

Tanguturi Ravindra Reddy, Krishnan Thyagarajan, Ovidio Almanza Montero, Sanapa Reddy Lakshmi Reddy, Tamio Endo

Department of Physics, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, College of Engineering, Pulivendla, India.
Department of Physics, Sri Venkateswara Degree College, Kadapa, India.
Department of Physics, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota, Colombia.
Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, Tsu, Mie, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2014.22015                

Abstract

The bauxite mineral obtained from Araku, Vishakapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, India is used in the present work. Structural characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mineral was found to be gibbsite in phase. The transitional metal ions present were investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and optical absorption spectra. The EPR results suggest that Fe³⁺ has replaced Al³⁺ in the unit cell of bauxite. The optical absorption spectrum is due to Fe³⁺ which indicates that it is in distorted octahedral environment. The near-infrared (NIR) spectrum is due to water fundamentals and combination overtones, which confirm the formula of the compound. The impurities in the mineral are identified using spectroscopic techniques.

Keywords

Bauxite; Gibbsite; X-Ray Diffraction (XRD); Electron Paramagnetic; Electron Paramagnetic Resonance; Optical Absorption Spectra; Fe³⁺; Water Fundamentals

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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