Chemical composition

All the rock-forming feldspars are aluminosilicate minerals with the general formula AT₄O₈ in which A = potassium, sodium, or calcium (Ca); and T = silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al), with a Si:Al ratio ranging from 3:1 to 1:1. Microcline and orthoclase are potassium feldspars (KAlSi₃O₈), usually designated Or in discussions involving their end-member composition. Albite (NaAlSi₃O₈—usually designated Ab) and anorthite (CaAl₂Si₂O₈—An) are end-members of the plagioclase series. Sanidine, anorthoclase, and the perthites are alkali feldspars whose chemical compositions lie between Or and Ab.

As is apparent from the preceding statements, solid solution plays an important role in the rock-making feldspars. (Members of solid-solution series are single crystalline phases whose chemical compositions are intermediate to those of two or more end-members.) The alkali (Or-Ab) series exhibits complete solid solution at high temperatures but only incomplete solid solution at low temperatures; substitution of potassium for sodium is involved. The plagioclase (Ab-An) series exhibits essentially complete solid solution at both high and low temperatures; coupled substitution of sodium and silicon by calcium and aluminum occurs. The An-Or system has only limited solid-solution tendencies.

The most obvious differences between the high- and low-temperature diagrams are along the alkali-feldspar (Or-Ab) join (the boundary line between the phases). As indicated, sanidine and anorthoclase are high-temperature alkali feldspars, and perthite is their low-temperature analogue. Sanidine is a single-phase alkali feldspar; although frequently described chemically by the formula (K, Na)AlSi₃O₈, most analyzed specimens of sanidine range between Or₅₀ and Or₈₀. (This designation is used to specify the fractions of the constituents. For example, Or₈₀ indicates that the mineral is composed of 80 percent KAlSi₃O₈ and 20 [i.e., 100 − 80] percent NaAlSi₃O₈.) Anorthoclase is a variously used name that is most often applied to apparently homogeneous alkali feldspar masses, at least some of which consist of submicroscopic lamellae (layers) of albite and orthoclase; their bulk compositions typically range between Or₂₅ and Or₆₀. Perthite consists of intimate intermixtures of a potassium feldspar—either microcline or orthoclase—and a sodium-rich plagioclase that occurs as microscopic to macroscopic masses within the potassium feldspar host.

Many perthites are formed when high-temperature potassium-sodium feldspars of appropriate compositions are cooled in such a manner that the original solid-solution phase exsolves (i.e., unmixes, so that a homogeneous mineral separates into two or more different minerals) to form intermixtures—sometimes termed intergrowths—of two phases.

Some perthites, however, appear to have been formed as a result of partial replacement of original potassium feldspars by sodium-bearing fluids. In any case, perthite is the name properly applied to intimate mixtures in which the potassium feldspar component predominates over the plagioclase constituent, whereas antiperthite is the name given to intimate mixtures in which the plagioclase constituent is predominant. Perthites are common, whereas antiperthites are relatively rare.

The plagioclase series is essentially continuous at both high and low temperatures. The names of members of the series designate relative proportions of the end-members. Although plagioclase grains in some rocks are essentially homogeneous, those in many rocks are zoned—i.e., different parts of individual grains have different Ab and An contents. One explanation for zoning in plagioclases formed from magmas can be implied from information known about the Ab-An system. Upon cooling, the first crystals that form from a melt with the composition X (= An₅₀) will have the composition Y (approximately An₈₃). With further cooling, in some cases the first and subsequently formed crystals will react continuously with the remaining liquid, thereby maintaining equilibrium; when the liquid becomes totally crystallized, the system will consist of homogeneous plagioclase crystals. In cases in which such equilibrium is not maintained during cooling, the early and subsequently formed feldspars have different An contents. For example, zoned crystals may form with differing An contents arranged one on top of another so that their margins are relatively sodium-rich as compared to their earlier-formed, more calcium-rich cores. The resulting zoning may be gradational or well-defined or may assume some combination of these characteristics.

Many elements other than those required for the Or, Ab, and An end-member compositions have been recorded in analyses of feldspars. Those that have been recorded to occur as substitutions within the feldspar structures include lithium (Li), rubidium (Rb), cesium (Cs), magnesium (Mg), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), yttrium (Y), ferrous iron (Fe²⁺), thallium (Tl), lead (Pb), lanthanum (La) and other rare earth elements, and ammonium (NH₄) in the A position; and titanium (Ti), ferric (Fe³⁺) and ferrous (Fe²⁺) iron, boron (B), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), and phosphorus (P) in the T position. Of these, substitution of some barium for potassium and some titanium or ferric iron or both for aluminum are especially common in alkali feldspars. Several other elements also have been recorded as traces in feldspar analyses; it seems very likely, however, that some of these elements may reside in impurities—i.e., within unrecognized microscopic or submicroscopic inclusions of other minerals.