Chemical and structural properties of clay minerals modified by inorganic and organic material

Abstract

Modification of clay minerals by exchange, intercalation, calcination and imbibition of organics followed by their polymerization and carbonization was studied. The surface properties of the clays were investigated by inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution employing alkanes and alkenes as probes; the structural properties were measured directly by X-ray diffraction and inferred from the results of high pressure hydrogen adsorption. Calcination of pillared smectites prior to polymerization and carbonization of organic material in the interlayer space leads to a microporous “activated carbon” that demonstrates unique properties as an adsorbent for hydrogen, significantly different from clays that have not been calcined.