Investigation of the Orientation of CTA+ Ions in the Interlayer of CTAB Pillared Montmorillonite

The orientation of CTA+ in the interlayer of organic pillared montmorillonite prepared by adding different amounts of surfactant corresponding to the CEC of the pristine clay mineral has been studied using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra. Morphology of the samples was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results are supported by the measurements of zeta potentials and contact angles of pristine clay and organoclay samples. From the XRD results, a series of arrangement models of CTA+ in the interlayer of montmorillonite have been proposed as lateral‐bilayer, pseudotrilayer, paraffin‐type‐monolayer and pseudotrilayer, paraffin‐type‐bilayer and pseudotrilayer for 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2.0 CEC, respectively. FTIR spectrum and contact angle measurements of pristine montmorillonite and organoclays indicated the incorporation of surfactant and the changing of hydrophility in the different OMts. This study demonstrates that not only the arrangement model of surfactant, but also the morphology of organoclay strongly depends on the surfactant packing density within the montmorillonite interlayer space. In addition, it can be also proposed that, the magnitude of surface charge or its distribution on clay mineral might be an important factor for expansion characteristics of organoclay.