Abstract: | On addition, at neutral reaction, of increasing amounts of AlCl3 solutions to 0.005 m Na-silicate solutions, in which the silicate anions are monomeric, amorphous, almost Na+-free precipitates are formed being at first characterised by a higher atomic Al:Si ratio than the total Al:Si mixing ratio. With increasing Al:Si addition, the Al:Si ratio of the precipitates increases until — at a 3:1 ratio in both the liquid and the solid phase — a definite, “saturated” compound, {(OH)2AlO]3SiOH · aq}, is formed. In this compound the silicate anions are monomeric and not condensable at room temperature. This is valid, too, for precipitates from Al:Si > 3 which contain, besides the “saturated” compound, free Al hydroxide. The first-mentioned precipitates with Al:Si < 3, however, contain polymeric Si units which easily condense to more high-polymeric silicate anions. |