Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Surface Modification of TBA-Br/Mt Organoclays at Different Cation Exchange Ratio

In this study, the synthesis of TBA-Br/Mt organoclay at different cation exchange ratios was carried out using tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (TBA-Br) surfactant on Montmorillonite (Mt) clay. Due to the swelling properties of Mt layers with water, it’s possible to disperse or deaggregate clay aggregates into a single layer under appropriate preparation conditions. Silicate clay minerals consist of octahedral and tetrahedral layers. The most commonly used fillers in the synthesis of organoclays have a silicate layer structure. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) of montmorillonite clay is usually dependent on the Si/Al ratio. The structures of TBA-Br/Mt organoclays synthesized at different cation exchange capacities were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N2 adsorption/desorption (BET), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). It was observed that the BET surface area decreased as the CEC ratio increased from 0.5 to 2.0 due to the increase in the amount of tetrabutyl ammonium bromide (TBA-Br) in the synthesized TBA-Br/Mt organoclay. As can be understood from the TEM images, it was observed that the Mt layers partially expanded as the CEC ratio increased from 0.5 to 2.0.