Shigeo Satokawa

Evidence for the formation of interlayer polyacrylonitrile in kaolinite

A kaolinite-polymer intercalation complex was apparently formed for the first time by the polymerization of acrylonitrile between the kaolinite layers. A kaolinite-ammonium acetate intercalation complex was dispersed in acrylonitrile monomer. The monomer was apparently incorporated between the layers by displacing intercalated ammonium acetate. After the removal of excess monomer, the intercalation complex was heated to cause polymerization. The resulting kaolinite-polyacrylonitrile (PAN) intercalate showed a basal spacing of ∼ 13–14 Å. On heating the complex at 220°C for 1 hr in air, the spacing decreased slightly. The hydrogen bond between the hydroxyls of kaolinite and probably the C≡N group of PAN was not affected after heating at 220°C. Even after heating at 400°C, the layers expanded. Because the starting kaolinite-ammonium acetate intercalation complex decomposed at a much lower temperature, these observations strongly suggest the presence of PAN between the layers.

Preparation of a kaolinite-polyacrylamide intercalation compound

Acrylamide has been polymerized between the layers of kaolinite by heat treatment. Acrylamide monomer was first intercalated by the displacement reaction between a kaolinite-N-methylformamide (NMF) intercalation compound and a 10% acrylamide aqueous solution. The resulting intercalation compound showed a basal spacing of 11.3 Å. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross polarization and magic angle spinning (13C CP/MAS-NMR) indicated the replacement of NMF by acrylamide. IR spectroscopy also showed the formation of hydrogen bonds with the hydroxyls of kaolinite. When the kaolinite-acrylamide intercalation compound was heated at 300°C for 1 hr, the basal spacing increased to 11.4 Å, and IR and 13C CP/MAS-NMR showed the disappearance of C=C bonds, indicating the polymerization of acrylamide. The heat-treated kaolinite-acrylamide intercalation compound was resistant to 30 min-washing with water, whereas the untreated kaolinite-acrylamide intercalation compound collapsed after the same treatment, an observation consistent with acrylamide polymerization between the layers of kaolinite. IR spectroscopy revealed that Polyacrylamide was hydrogen bonded to kaolinite, but in a manner different from the hydrogen bonding of acrylamide.

EFFECTS OF THE STRUCTURE OF SILICA-ALUMINA GEL ON THE HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF KAOLINITE

Kaolinite was hydrothermally synthesized from two kinds of silica-alumina gels to examine the effect of the structure of the starting material. Two kinds of gels were prepared by precipitation at different pH conditions (pH = 9.6 and 4.2) from solutions containing water glass and aluminum sulfate. Na ions in the gels were removed with a resin before the hydrothermal treatment, but a slight amount of sulfate ions was still present in the gels. The nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the starting gels suggested that the gel prepared at pH 9.6 consists of networks with alternating SiO4- and A1O4-tetrahedra (partially AlO6-octahedra), whereas the gel prepared at pH 4.2 consists of a sheet structure related to allophane. After the hydrothermal treatment at 220°C for 9 days, kaolinite particles with spherical shape were obtained from the former gel, and platy kaolinite was crystallized from the latter one. The difference in morphology of synthetic kaolinite was attributable to the structures of the starting gels, and the pH values in the hydrothermal reactions were not very significant to the morphology.

KAOLINITE-PYRIDINE INTERCALATION COMPOUND DERIVED FROM HYDRATED KAOLINITE

A kaolinite-pyridine intercalation compound was prepared using hydrated kaolinite as an intermediate. Hydrated kaolinite having a basal spacing of 10 Å was treated with pyridine to form a well-ordered intercalation compound having a basal spacing of 12.0 Å. Infrared spectroscopy indicated the presence of hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyls of the kaolinite and the pyridine. 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with cross polarization and magic-angle spinning revealed that intercalated pyridine affected the environment of silicon. The mono-substituted pyridine derivatives were also intercalated with hydrated kaolinite. On the basis of the basal spacings of the intercalation compounds and the stabilities of the derivatives between the layers, the pyridine appeared to be in an approximately perpendicular position, with the nitrogen facing the gibbsitic sheets.

EFFECTS OF ACIDITY ON THE HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS OF KAOLINITE FROM SILICA-GEL AND GIBBSITE

A comparative study is reported in which kaolinite has been hydrothermally synthesized at several pH conditions. The syntheses were carried out at 220 °C for 3 to 10 d with distilled water or acidic solutions using a mixture of silica-gel derived from alkoxide and gibbsite with a Si/Al ratio of 1:1 as the starting material. Use of acidic solution for the synthesis promotes the dissolution of the starting materials and leads to kaolinitization at an earlier stage of the reaction. However, the rate of kaolinitization is found to be rather slow, in comparison to the reaction with distilled water. The synthetic kaolinite was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction pattern. Kaolinite synthesized with distilled water was poorly grown for direction of the stacking. For example, crystallite size along the c*-axis = 155 Å, whereas kaolinite synthesized with acidic solution gave a higher crystallite size along the c*-axis, such as 253 Å in the case of the synthesis with 0.1 N HCl. Hinckley index of the synthetic kaolinite was varied from 0.35 to 0.80 by the acidity of the reaction. Different kaolinitization processes are implied by differences observed in the rate of kaolinitization, which has an influence on the nature of the stacking faults of the kaolinite.

Synthesis of titania particles with high photocatalytic activity by high-temperature hydrolysis of TTIP in gas phase

Recently, the photocatalytic activity of titania has attracted considerable attention for solving various environmental problems. Photocatalysis is considered to be effective in air purification, water purification, and used for dealing with various types of environmental pollution. The smaller the particle size of titania, the faster the photocatalysis proceeds. Since our previous study revealed that the modification of synthesis process reduced the particle size of silica, we attempted to apply this process to synthesise titania, with an objective of obtaining titania with high photocatalytic activity. This paper describes an unconventional gas-phase synthetic method involving high-temperature hydrolysis.