Amazonite in Pakistan: A Comprehensive Study with XRD, XPS, SEM, and PL Analyses

Abstract

Although amazonite minerals from various locations have been studied before rather less attention has been paid to the amazonite mineral from Pakistan. The present work is presented an extensive structural characterization of natural amazonite aliquots (KAlSi3O8) from Tangir Valley, Gilgit-Pakistan. The phase and elemental analysis have been characterized by both X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The surface morphology and particle size have been identified by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The luminescence properties have been investigated using PhotoLuminescence (PL). In addition, the lifetime of the PL emission measurements has been estimated. Eventually, this microcline has a triclinic phase, mainly composed of (AlO4)-5 ions, SiO2, metal SiO4, Al2O3 and oxygen originating from impurities. The average particle size is around 1–10 µm with a complex structure. The PL spectrum has broad emission and excitation bands (520 nm and 340 mm respectively). The average lifetime of the PL emission is 265,21 µs. For the accuracy of the results all experiments were performed with not only a single aliquot, but with three aliquots, and representative results are presented.