Study of colloidal properties of natural and Al-pillared smectite and removal of copper ions from an aqueous solution.

In this study, an Al-pillared smectite was synthesized and changes in its colloidal properties were investigated. The pillaring solution was prepared by mixing 0.4 mol L(-1) NaOH and 0.2 mol L(-1) AlCl3.6H2O solutions. Intercalated clays were heated to obtain the pillared clay, and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and N2 sorption/desorption isotherms analysis were done to characterize the changes in clay properties. Moreover, adsorption experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the capacity of the pillared clays to remove Cu2+ from an aqueous solution and to characterize the interaction between adsorbent and adsorbate. The results indicate that the natural clay has a basal spacing of 1.26 nm, whereas the pillared clays reached 1.78 nm (500°C) and 1.80 nm (350°C) after calcination. XRF analysis revealed an increase in the Al3+ in the pillared clay as compared to the natural clay. The surface area and pore volume (micro and mesoporous) were higher for the pillared clays. Experimental data from the adsorption experiment were fit to Langmuir and Freundlich and Temkin adsorption models, and the former one was the best fit (highest r2 value) for all the clays and lower standard deviation (Δg%) for the natural clay. On the other hand, the Temkin model exhibited Δg% value lower for the pillared clays. Thermodynamics parameters demonstrate that the Cu2+ adsorption process is spontaneous for all the clays, but with higher values for the pillared materials. In addition, application of the Dubinin-Radushkevich model revealed that the bond between the metal and the clay are weak, characterizing a physisorption.

Pilarização de argilas e perspectivas de aplicação e de pesquisa agronômica e ambiental / Pillaring of clays and perspective of agronomic and environmental application and research

A exploração das propriedades químicas e estruturais de argilas expansivas, por meio da intercalação de polímeros inorgânicos no espaço interlamelar, permite o desenvolvimento de materiais reativos e com elevado potencial de aplicação tecnológica, agronômica e ambiental. Esta técnica, conhecida como pilarização, já é bastante difundida na área das ciências química e dos materiais, havendo esforços crescentes nos últimos anos para aplicação desses materiais com fins ambientais. Contudo, apenas uma fração do conhecimento acumulado é atualmente utilizada diretamente por cientistas do solo, abrindo oportunidades para novas pesquisas por meio do intercambio de conhecimento entre as diferentes áreas de pesquisa, como físico-química e microbiologia. Portanto, esta revisão apresenta e discute o que são a pilarização e as argilas pilarizadas, métodos de síntese e algumas aplicações nas ciências do solo e ambiental, buscando encorajar mais grupos brasileiros de pesquisa a explorá-las.

The use of chemical and structural properties of swelling clays intercalated with inorganic polymers allows the development of materials with high reactivity and potential for technological and environmental applications. This technique is known as pillaring and has been studied widely in the field of chemical and material science, but the use of pillared clays for environmental application has increased only in the last few years. Nevertheless, only a fraction of this knowledge is applied by soil scientists being, therefore, an opportunity to develop new studies including a wide range of disciplines, such as physico-chemistry and microbiology. Therefore, this review presents and discusses what are pillaring and pillared clays, methods of synthesis and some applications in soil and environmental science, aiming to encourage more research groups in Brazil to explore it.