Abstract
Kaolinite (Kaol) was intercalated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and subsequently methanol (MeOH) to prepare intercalation compounds Kaol-DMSO and Kaol-MeOH. Kaol-MeOH was used as an intermediate to synthesize Kaol-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) intercalation compound (Kaol-SDS) via displacement reaction. The ultrasonic exfoliation of Kaol-SDS produced a resultant Kaol-SDS-U. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and particle size analysis. The results revealed that the intercalation of sodium dodecyl sulfate into kaolinite layers caused an obvious increase of the basal spacing from 0.72–4.21 nm. The dehydroxylation temperature of Kaol-SDS was obviously lower than that of original kaolinite. During the intercalation process of sodium dodecyl sulfate, a few kaolinite layers were exfoliated and curled up from the edges of the kaolinite sheets. After sonication treatment, the kaolinite layers were further transformed into nanoscrolls, and the exfoliated resultant Kaol-SDS-U possessed a smaller particle size close to nanoscale.
Highlights
Rubber/layered silicate nanocomposites have attracted extensive interest both in industry and academia due to the unique characteristics of nano-sized layered silicates, including their large surface area, high surface reactivity and relatively low cost [1,2,3,4]
The results indicated that the expanded basal spacing of kaolinite was independent of the chain length of guest species, because the basal spacing of kaolinite expanded from 0.7–1.1 nm
The exfoliation method may provide the possibility of preparing thin kaolinite flakes with large aspect ratios
Summary
Rubber/layered silicate nanocomposites have attracted extensive interest both in industry and academia due to the unique characteristics of nano-sized layered silicates, including their large surface area, high surface reactivity and relatively low cost [1,2,3,4]. In order to increase the accessible aspect ratio of kaolinite, many methods have been used to exfoliate the stack layers of kaolinite, such as intercalation, mechanical exfoliation and assisted sonication [18,19,20,21]. Among these exfoliation methods, intercalation has received considerable attention because the intercalated molecules could weaken the hydrogen bonding, and provide space for kaolinite to be exfoliated [19,22,23]. The exfoliation method may provide the possibility of preparing thin kaolinite flakes with large aspect ratios
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