Layer rigidity of clay intercalation compound: [Me₄N⁺]_1−x [Me₃NH⁺]_x −V

Abstract

Vermiculite is an Alumino-Silicate clays which is one of the layered materials that can form intercalation compounds [1–3]. The host layer of Vermiculite is classified as a 2:1 layered silicate due to its structure [2]. This 2:1 layered silicate is responsible for several of the distinctive properties of Vermiculite. First, unlike graphite layers which are charge neutral, 2:1 layered silicate has a negative layer charge. To compensate this the galleries of Vermiculite are occupied by cations and in turn this makes the intercalation process in CIC’s (Clay Intercalation Compounds) an ion exchange process. Second, because the 2:1 silicate layers are composed of multiple, cross-linked planes of atoms, one can expect the clay layers to be relatively rigid to transverse distortions. The rigidity of the silicate layer is important not only for the study of fundamental physical properties of quasi-two dimensional systems but also for practical applications such as catalysis [4, 5]. In any case, it is very important to know how rigid the layer is and what factors affect layer rigidity.