ZHENG Xiang1, SUN Hai-biao1, ZHANG Xuan-hui1, XIE Wei-miao1, LI Guo-hua1,2
(1. School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Hangzhou 310032, China;
2. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Green Chemistry Synthesis Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China)
Abstract: Montmorillonite was exfoliated through an intercalated reaction process, using lithium chloride (LiCl), n-butyllithium (n-BuLi) and glucose acid (GA) as reactants. The crystal structure, morphology and microstructure of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Results show that, after being exfoliated by using LiCl, the layered structure of montmorillonite is preserved, the dispersion of the sample is good, and the diffraction peak of the (001) plane shifted left 1.2°. The corresponding lattice spacing increased by 0.27 nm, with some single layer particles with a thickness of 5―10 nm displayed curled edges. After being exfoliated, by using n-BuLi, the diffraction peak of (001) plane disappeared, indicating that the layered structure of montmorillonite was destroyed. As well, some nano-sized pieces were exfoliated with a thickness of 10―15 nm. After being exfoliated, by using glucose acid, the degree of disorder in the montmorillonite structure increased, with noticeabe layer stacking. Comparing the three methods of exfoliation, it is clear that the efficiency of montmorillonite structure exfoliation using LiCl and n-BuLi is better than by using glucose acid. The highest efficiency was achieved using n-BuLi only.
Key words: montmorillonite; exfoliated; lithium chloride; n-butyllithium; glucose acid
ACTA MINERALOGICA SINICA Vol. 34, No. 3, 2014, Page 427
