Investigation and characterization of Nano clay structures

A. Bahari, F. Ashrafi , A. Bab

Abstract

Nano clays are synthesized by the sol-gel method while ethanol and some acids are used as organic solvents and matrail treatments in the synthesis processes. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) techniques points out that the obtained nanopowders possess a well crystallized hydrotalcite – like anionic clay structure. They reveal that the features of the some dominate kind of clay in particularly montmorillinite (MMT), eillit (psedu quartz) and kaolinite crystal phases which are dependent on the nature of the organic solvent and acid treatment materials. After treatment, the obtained results show an emerged nanoclay with a relatively uniform porous structure with expanding nano clay layers. These results point out that the nature of the organic solvent and acid treatments are important for tailoring the textural and porous properties of nano clay nanostructures which can enhances the structural integrity, and provides a generic framework to construct functionally graded materials.