Agustín Cota

Synthesis and characterization of kanemite from fluoride-containing media: Influence of the alkali cation

Abstract Kanemite belongs to the group of naturally occurring sodium silicate minerals that was first found in Kanem, at the edge of the Lake Chad, and has been synthesized in different ways from NaOH-SiO2 mixtures and used as precursor for the design of microporous and mesoporous materials. The fluoride route to the synthesis of microporous materials is based on the substitution of OH- anions by fluoride anions, which may subsequently also play a mineralizing role, and gives rise to materials with higher hydrophobicity and thermal and hydrothermal stability. Moreover, F- plays an important role in the incorporation of framework heteroatoms, thereby affecting the activity of the final material. The aim of this study was to synthesize fluorokanemite using different synthetic routes and different F- source. The final product was characterized by a combination of methods that provided information regarding the incorporation of fluorine into the framework and the short- and long-range structural order of the fluorosilicate. Kanemite with water content close to ideal was obtained in all cases. The washing process was found to have no effect in the long- or short-range structural order of the layer framework, although it did affect the structure of the cation in the interlayer space of kanemite. The mineralizing agent therefore appears to be the key to the synthesis. Furthermore, it governs the resulting kanemite structure by controlling the formation of hydrogen bonds in the framework, and therefore the degree of lamellar structure condensation.

Self-Assembling of Tetradecylammonium Chain on Swelling High Charge Micas (Na-Mica-3 and Na-Mica-2): Effect of Alkylammonium Concentration and Mica Layer Charge.

A family of tetradecylammonium micas is synthesized using synthetic swelling micas with high layer charge (Na(n)Si(8-n)Al(n)Mg6F4O20·XH2O, where n = 2 and 3) exchanged with tetradecylammonium cations. The molecular arrangement of the surfactant is elucidated on the basis of XRD patterns and DTA. The ordering conformation of the surfactant molecules into the interlayer space of micas is investigated by IR/FT, (13)C, (27)Al, and (29)Si MAS NMR. The structural arrangement of the tetradecylammonium cation in the interlayer space of high-charge micas is more sensitive to the effect of the mica layer charge at high concentration. The surfactant arrangement is found to follow the bilayer-paraffin model for all values of layer charge and surfactant concentration. However, at initial concentration below the mica CEC, a lateral monolayer is also observed. The amount of ordered conformation all-trans is directly proportional to the layer charge and surfactant concentration.

Cesium adsorption isotherm on swelling high-charged micas from aqueous solutions: Effect of temperature

Abstract The potential use of a new family of synthetic swelling micas for cesium immobilization from aqueous solution was evaluated and the structural modifications after adsorption were analyzed. The results have revealed that they are good cesium adsorbents compared to natural clays and as the layer charge increases, the adsorption capacity and affinity increase. The cesium ions are adsorbed through a cation exchange mechanism, but an inner sphere complex with the basal O atoms of the tetrahedral sheet is favored. These findings imply that is possible to design minerals with improved environmental applications.