Thermal behaviour of organically modified smectites

The smectites were modified with different types of alkylammonium cations. The X-ray powder diffraction was used to calculate the values of the basal space of the modified smectites to confirm the intercalation of cations into the structure. The montmorillonites were also characterized by means of FTIR spectroscopy, which proved sorption or intercalation of the alkylammonium cations too. Thermal behaviour of the smectites was investigated by simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. The temperatures of dehydratation and dehydroxylation and the temperatures related to total melting and recrystallization generally changed. Study of temperatures changes together with determination of kinetic parameters helped to obtained a comprehensive assessment of smectite thermal stability