The sorption properties of two layered minerals of the hydrotalcite supergroup – hydrotalcite and stichtite – were investigated with the aim of determining their kinetic parameters of sorption and their adsorption isotherm type. Pristine hydrotalcite and stichtite were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive Х-ray analysis and laser diffraction analysis of the particle-size distribution. The ‘memory effect’ of the sorbents was examined after calcination at 650°C. Slight indications of reconstructed hydrotalcite were observed, while the stichtite dehydration–rehydration cycle was irreversible. The hydrotalcite and stichtite were used to remove Congo Red from the aqueous solution. The pseudo-second order kinetic model described the process adequately. Mixed external and internal diffusion was confirmed for both minerals. The sorption of Congo Red on stichtite fits the Langmuir model. Stichtite demonstrated a maximum adsorption capacity of 2.5 mmol g–1 at 35°C. Increasing temperature increased the adsorption rate of Congo Red on stichtite but did not affect the adsorption rate constant for hydrotalcite.

Two quintinite polytypes, 3R and 2T, which are new for the Kovdor alkaline-ultrabasic complex, have been structurally characterized. The crystal structure of quintinite-2T was solved by direct methods and refined to R1 = 0.048 on the basis of 330 unique reflections. The structure is trigonal, P$\bar 3$c1, a = 5.2720(6), c = 15.113(3) Å and V = 363.76(8) Å3. The crystal structure consists of [Mg2Al(OH)6]+ brucite-type layers with an ordered distribution of Mg2+ and Al3+ cations according to the $\sqrt 3 $ × $\sqrt 3 $ superstructure with the layers stacked according to a hexagonal type. The complete layer stacking sequence can be described as …=Ab1C = Cb1A=…. The crystal structure of quintinite-3R was solved by direct methods and refined to R1 = 0.022 on the basis of 140 unique reflections. It is trigonal, R$\bar 3$m, a = 3.063(1), c = 22.674(9) Å and V = 184.2(1) Å3. The crystal structure is based upon double hydroxide layers [M2+,3+(OH)2] with disordered distribution of Mg, Al and Fe and with the layers stacked according to a rhombohedral type. The stacking sequence of layers can be expressed as …=АB = BC = CA=… The study of morphologically different quintinite generations grown on one another detected the following natural sequence of polytype formation: 2H → 2T → 1M that can be attributed to a decrease of temperature during crystallization. According to the information-based approach to structural complexity, this sequence corresponds to the increasing structural information per atom (IG): 1.522 → 1.706 → 2.440 bits, respectively. As the IG value contributes negatively to the configurational entropy of crystalline solids, the evolution of polytypic modifications during crystallization corresponds to the decreasing configurational entropy. This is in agreement with the general principle that decreasing temperature corresponds to the appearance of more complex structures.