Surface structure of natural crystals of mordenite as imaged by atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been applied to examine the surface of natural mordenite crystals in an 0.1 M NaOH aqueous solution. Wide-scan AFM images revealed that the crystals have a surface partially covered with aggregates of mordenite fine particles. Atomic-scale images showed surface structure that agreed well with the models of the (100) and (010) surface. The hydroxyl groups on the (100) surface could be resolved. The images also revealed that an important factor that determines the resolution of an AFM image of mordenite is the magnitude of the periodic corrugation on the crystal surface.