Identification of TiO2 Polymorphs of the Bauxite Deposit in Central Guangxi by Laser Raman Spectroscopy

Abstract

BACKGROUND Rutile, anatase and brookite are TiO2 polymorphs. In the rutile in-situ U-Pb dating, rutile was determined primarily on electron microprobe data and cathodoluminescence images, while these methods sometimes could not effectively distinguish rutile, anatase and brookite. If there are a small number of the TiO2 polymorphs in the sample, the obtained age may be a mixed age with no significant geological significance. Therefore, the identification of TiO2 polymorphs is very important. OBJECTIVES To identify TiO2 polymorphs from the bauxite deposit in central Guangxi. METHODS TiO2 minerals in bauxite from central Guangxi were used as the research object, and laser Raman spectroscopy was applied to the identification of TiO2 isomorphic minerals. RESULTS Four groups of laser Raman spectral lines with different characteristics were identified. The first three groups have laser Raman spectral peaks of anatase, rutile and brookite, respectively. The fourth group has two kinds of laser Raman spectral characteristic lines, one has both anatase characteristic peaks of 144, 198, 397, 513, 636cm-1 and rutile characteristic peaks of 442, 607cm-1, the other has both anatase characteristic peak of 144cm-1 and brookite characteristic peak of 153, 247, 325, 636cm-1. CONCLUSIONS The TiO2 polymorphs of the bauxite deposit includs rutile, anatase, brookite and intermediate minerals that undergo phase transformation. The study indicates that the bauxite deposit in central Guangxi may have undergone a later regional metamorphism, leading to the transformation of TiO2 polymorphs. The laser Raman spectroscopy provides a new method for the identification of TiO2 polymorphs andrutile for in-situ U-Pb dating.

Keywords

• tio2 polymorphs
• laser raman spectroscopy
• rutile
• anatase
• brookite