Abstract
Visualizing montmorillonite (MMT) platy particles dispersed in silica gel was firstly demonstrated by synchrotron X-ray multiscale tomography. The silica sol-gel reaction proceeded with the preservation of MMT dispersibility in water, MeOH, and DMF mixture. The 3D image reconstructed using high-resolution X-ray computed (CT) images (i.e., nano-CT) displayed platy particles in the range of 0.5—2.5 μm, which matched that observed in the field-emission microscope image of powder MMT. In addition, some platy particles are assembled by contacting their edge and layered surfaces, suggesting the presence of a house-of-cards structure. Given a decrease in the distance by 30% between platy particles roughly estimated using a decrease in volume by 65% before and after silica gelation, a dispersion state formed by micrometer-sized platy particles did not essentially differ after silica gelation. Therefore, these results indicated that the 3D image of MMT platy particles in silica gel reflected the dispersion state of MMT particles in the solvent.
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