The effect of preparation method on textural and structural properties of alumina-pillared interstratified illite-smectite

Abstract

In order to study the effect of the preparation method on structural and textural properties of pillared clays, alumina-pillared bentonite clay (Al-PILC) was prepared using two different methods: the conventional and ultrasonic one, during the aging process for the pillaring solution and during the aging in the intercalation stage. Compared with the conventional treatment, the use of an ultrasonication method considerably reduces the modification time (from 24 h to 20 min) for the synthesis of the pillared clay. The characterization of solids by the elemental chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), cation exchange capacity (CEC), N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR) techniques showed that the use of ultrasound brings not only very similar results to those obtained with the classical method, but also present a better structural and textural properties than the clay pillared with the conventional treatment.