Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Expandable Layer Silicates

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2020) | Viewed by 7276

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi, 103, 41125 Modena, Italy
Interests: clay minerals; silicates; adsorption; intercalation; catalysis; gas-trapping; ion exchange; deflocculation; chemical garden

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Expandable layer silicates (ELS) are formed by compact layers characterized by two-dimensional tetrahedral sheets sandwiching an octahedral one. Sheets are held together by interatomic chemical bonds, while much weaker interactions connect the different layers. The most striking feature of these structures is that the region between two adjacent layers (interlayer space) can change to accommodate a variety of guest species, either organic or inorganic.

ELS are ubiquitous natural minerals holding peculiar features, but they can also be synthesized to obtain new structures for materials with specific properties. ELS are extremely appealing as versatile scaffolds to yield functional hybrid materials for applications in many novel and advanced areas. As naturally abundant geogenic or modified/synthetic materials, ELS have so far found applications for a variety of purposes as polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites, nanoclays, drug carriers, and flame retardants. For this reason, they are gaining increasing interest among scientists in several fields, such as physical chemistry of the liquid or gas/mineral interface, catalysis, drug delivery, (bio)molecules assembly and adhesion, environment, health, rheology, and chemical synthesis.

This Special Issue is intended for publication of both original works and reviews in the field of the structure, synthesis, and application of natural and synthetic ELS. Manuscripts concerning the applications in the field of hybrid materials, biomedicine, removal of pollutants and hazardous chemicals, polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites, and rheology are welcome, as well as basic experimental or computational studies on the structure, modification, and synthesis of these minerals. The purpose of this issue is to offer a broad overview of the state of the art in the field of ELS, through an interdisciplinary approach ranging from mineralogy to chemistry, including technology, medicine, materials, biology, and industrial applications.

Dr. Elena Castellini
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • intercalation
  • adsorption
  • pillared clays
  • polymer/layered silicates
  • removal
  • delivery
  • clay functionalization
  • nanoclays
  • nanocomposites
  • crystal chemistry
  • atomistic models

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3945 KiB  
Article
On the Calculation of Van der Waals Force between Clay Particles
by Xiang-Yu Shang, Kang Zhao, Wan-Xiong Qian, Qi-Yin Zhu and Guo-Qing Zhou
Minerals 2020, 10(11), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10110993 - 9 Nov 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3697
Abstract
Complex physical–chemical interactions between clay particles including the van der Waals force control the macroscopic behaviors of clay. The calculation of van der Waals force is essential in the discrete element method (DEM) that has been widely used to enhance the understanding of [...] Read more.
Complex physical–chemical interactions between clay particles including the van der Waals force control the macroscopic behaviors of clay. The calculation of van der Waals force is essential in the discrete element method (DEM) that has been widely used to enhance the understanding of the behavior of clay. Due to its high computational efficiency, a plate-wall model developed in the literature was adopted to obtain the van der Waals force between the neighboring clay particles approximately in the published DEM simulations. However, different choices of the ideal wall result in different magnitudes as well as directions of total van der Waals forces. To investigate the effect, a new rigorous plate-plate model was put forward and solved using an optimized Cotes integration method. Based on the comparison between the calculated results based on plate-wall and plate-plate model, the above effect was analyzed for the cases of face-face, edge-edge and edge-face contact types. Then, necessary advice for the reasonable use of the ideal-wall model was given accordingly. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Expandable Layer Silicates)
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13 pages, 3193 KiB  
Article
Interlayer-Confined Cu(II) Complex as an Efficient and Long-Lasting Catalyst for Oxidation of H2S on Montmorillonite
by Elena Castellini, Fabrizio Bernini, Lorenzo Sebastianelli, Claro Ignacio Sainz-Díaz, Aida Serrano, German R. Castro, Daniele Malferrari, Maria Franca Brigatti and Marco Borsari
Minerals 2020, 10(6), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10060510 - 31 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2908
Abstract
Removal of highly toxic H2S for pollution control and operational safety is a pressing need. For this purpose, a montmorillonite intercalated with Cu(II)-phenanthroline complex [Cu[(Phen)(H2O)2]2+ (Mt-CuPhen) was prepared to capture gaseous H2S under mild [...] Read more.
Removal of highly toxic H2S for pollution control and operational safety is a pressing need. For this purpose, a montmorillonite intercalated with Cu(II)-phenanthroline complex [Cu[(Phen)(H2O)2]2+ (Mt-CuPhen) was prepared to capture gaseous H2S under mild conditions. This hybrid material was simple to obtain and demonstrated an outstanding ability to entrap H2S at room temperature, retaining high efficiency for a very long time (up to 36.8 g of S/100 g Mt-CuPhen after 3 months of exposure). Sorbent and H2S uptake were investigated by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction measurements, diffuse reflectance (DR) UV–Vis and infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis and evolved gas mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The H2S capture was studied over time and a mechanism of action was proposed. The entrapping involves a catalytic mechanism in which [Cu[(Phen)(H2O)2]2+ acts as catalyst for H2S oxidation to S0 by atmospheric oxygen. The low cost and the long-lasting performance for H2S removal render Mt-CuPhen an extremely appealing trap for H2S removal and a promising material for many technological applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Expandable Layer Silicates)
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