Interlayer grafting and delamination of kaolinite

This work describes interlayer reactions of the clay mineral kaolinite. After a general introduction to clay minerals, some structural, morphological and geological properties of kaolinite, its mining, processing and industrial importance are described. Many basic aspects of kaolinite chemistry are presented in chapter two. Chapter three describes the synthesis and characterization of new interlayer-grafted kaolinites. Rheological studies of aqueous dispersions of these compounds are presented in chapter four. Chapter five describes an optimized delamination method developed for kaolinite and presents evidence on the formation of nanotubes formed by rolled single-layers of this mineral. It is shown (in chapter six) that grafted derivatives were not obtained by the reaction of kaolinite with phenylphosphonic acid and similar acids. The study of grafting reactions of kaolinite opens many new possibilities for tailoring this clay mineral for use in new types of advanced composite materials