Purification and Surface Modification of Layered Silicate Kaolinite as Potential Nanofiller

Intercalation reaction of inorganic layered materials has been well-known as a method in preparation of inorganic-organic multilayer nanocomposites, which have drawn increasing attention in recent years [1].Kaolinite [AL2Si2O5(OH)4] is a dioctahedral layered hydrated aluminosilicate of the 1:1 type with two distinct layer surfaces (gibbsite(AL2(OH)4) and silica-like structures. The van der Waals, bonds between the aluminol and Si-O groups link adjacent lamella to each other, and frequently make the intercalation process difficult [1,2]. Intercalation with dimethysulphoxide (DMSO) can be used to distinguish kaolinite layeres. It is because the intercalated molecules form stronger hydrogen bonds with the siloxan or gibbsite-like surface than those between the gibbsite and silica-like surfaces in the expanded kaolinite[3]. In the previous work, modification of kaolinite with DMSO took very long time which seemed not economic [4].In the present work, a rapid new method is employed in purification and modification of kaolinite by intercalation of DMSO into the interlamella spaces of kaolinite and the product is characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffractometery (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy