Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic comparison of five phyllosilicate mineral samples

•Portable visible and near-infrared spectroscopy was used to differentiate the minerals.•The significant differences between the five phyllosilicate minerals were observed.•The application of vis/NIR spectroscopy in the identification and quantification of these minerals•A simple and user friendly technique can be used to identify and quantify minerals.

Portable visible and near-infrared (vis/NIR) spectroscopy was used to characterize and differentiate the five phyllosilicate minerals and relate the bands to the mineral structure. The feature band at 2160-2170 nm (4600-4630 cm− 1) has been assigned to the high presence of Al-OH and is described as typical of dioctahedral phyllosilicate with OH groups coordinated around Al, and the feature occurred near 2322 nm is considered to be due to a combination of the OH stretch with the MgOH deformation mode, which is a typical of trioctahedral phyllosilicates. The presence of the bands 1400 and 1900 nm in vis/NIR spectrum indicated that some water is present in this sample. The absence of a 1900 nm band but the presence of a 1400 nm band indicates that only OH is present. Moreover, the significant differences between these five minerals were observed by the portable vis/NIR spectroscopy. The results show a potential for the application of vis/NIR spectroscopy in the identification and quantification of these minerals in the field. Further, such analysis can also provide important constraints on the nature of putative global and local-scale mineralogical transitions on Mars.

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