Preparation of Zirconium Pillared Montmorillonite Composites

Zr-pillared montmorillonite (Zr-pmt) was obtained from which ZrOCl 2 .8H 2 O cross-linked Na-mt through Sol-gel means. Several important parameters of the preparation of Zr-pmt, such as the initial concentration of montmorillonite (mt), Zr/mt, aging time of the pillaring agent and cross-linking reaction time were investigated in detail to evaluate performances of Zr-pmt. Under the conditions of the montmorillonite initial concentration of 4%, Zr/mt of 7.5 mmol/g, aging time of the pillaring agent for 3 h and cross-linking reaction time of 6 h, the maximum basal spacing (d 001 ) of Zr-pmt is 2.06 nm. Zr-pmt material is expected to be used for adsorption of wastewater.