Cryst. Res. Technol. 44, No. 6, 590 – 596 (2009) / DOI 10.1002/crat.200900135 © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Synthesis of Fe-doped chrysotile and characterization of the resulting chrysotile fibers A. Bloise* 1,2 , E. Belluso 2 , E. Barrese 1 , D. Miriello 1 , and C. Apollaro 1 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università della Calabria - Via Pietro Bucci, 87036 Arcava Rende (CS), Italy 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Mineralogiche e Petrologiche, Università di Torino; IGG-CNR, Sezione di Torin Via Valperga Caluso 35, 10125, Torino, Italy Received 6 March 2009, accepted 19 March 2009 Published online 3 April 2009 Key words hydrothermal synthesis, Fe-doped chrysotile, characterization. PACS 81.05.Lg, 61.72.Ww This study describes the formation of Fe-doped chrysotile fibers with partial and total substitution of M Fe. Syntheses were carried out with various starting mixtures (oxides, pure synthetic forsterite) externally heated pressure vessel in controlled hydrothermal conditions: temperature, 270 - 400 °C; pr 0.5 - 2 kbar; duration of treatment 160 - 480 hours. Pure synthetic forsterite was prepared by the flux g technique. The starting material and run products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRP scanning and transmission electron microscopies combined with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM and TEM-EDS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). Variations observed abundance and size of Fe-doped chrysotile fibers were attributed to different experimental conditions f synthesis. However, morphological shape turned out to depend on the starting mixtures used. Since na samples are often difficult to obtain in a sufficiently pure state, these synthetic and well-characterized doped chrysotile fibers can be used for better understanding of the mechanisms involved in asbestos t as well as of the role of Fe in diseases induced by asbestos phases. These synthetic Fe-doped chrysotil together with non-toxicity testing, may also have potential for exploitation in industrial fields. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1 Introduction Chrysotile Mg 3 Si 2 O 5 (OH) 4 , a well-known phyllosilicate belonging to the serpentine group, crystallizes fibrous morphology. As it has good technological properties, chrysotile has been exploited since ancien and used in a large number of applications. Because chrysotile fibers, if respired, are considered respo causing lung cancer, mesothelioma and other pathologies [1-5], their use is banned in several world co In natural chrysotile fibers, various cations (Al, Fe, Ni, Cr, and others) occupy both octahedr tetrahedral sites [6-8]. The presence of these substitutive impurities in chrysotile, even to a lim affects its morphology and chemical/physical properties [3,9-11] and it also could play an important ro pathological effects. Infact several authors attribute the chrysotile noxiousness to its morphology and c composition [12,13]. In particular, an important role seems to be played by Fe, considered to be one pr agent of toxicity [1,14-16] and often present in significant quantities in natural samples. To understand the pathological mechanisms of fibers, in vivo and in vitro experiments have been pe on natural chrysotile [1,14-16]. However, natural chrysotile does not have an ideal composition and the individual fibers may vary significantly. One method for correlating the noxiousness of the mineral with chemical composition, particularly its Fe content, morphology, or both, is to perform experiments with ____________________ * Corresponding author: e-mail: andrea.bloise@unical.it