Characterization of an aluminum pillared montmorillonite with cation exchange properties

The methods of PIGE and XRF were used to determine the elemental composition and the structural formulae of a specially tailored PILC material during the steps of its preparation. The CEC, a crucial property for the characterization of a cation exchanger, was monitored through all stages of preparation. In addition, the charge carried by the pillars, a critical quantity of the pillaring process, was estimated. Exchange isotherms of strontium and cesium were performed through the use of radiotracers' exchange isotherms of137Cs and85Sr with typical ψ-ray spectroscopy. These isotherms were of the Langmuir type and PILCs adsorption capacity was determined. The latter property was compared with the CEC determined by the elemental analysis and was found equal to the amount of the exchangeable interlamellar sodium ions.