THE MICROSTRUCTURES OF PERTHITIC ALKALI FELDSPARS REVEALED BY HYDROFLUORIC-ACID ETCHING

Etching of alkali feldspar cleavage fragments with hydrofluoric acid vapor, followed by study of the surfaces by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), is a simple and rapid technique for characterizing the microtextures of crypto- and microperthites. This technique has a number of advantages over conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) including ease of sample preparation and the large areas of crystals which can be imaged. Alkali feldspars studied by the method can yield important information on the cooling history of igneous and metamorphic rocks, fluid-feldspar interactions and the morphology and microstructures of albite exsolution lamellae. Some of these applications are illustrated by examples of etched crypto- and microperthites from the Klokken layered syenite, south Greenland and the Shap granite, north-west England.