I bought nanoclay from a supplier for a cheap price. I checked the elemental composition in SEM-EDX facility. The results say that the weight percentage of silica is 20-30, alumina is 5-8, and traces of Magnesium , calcium and lots of (60%) of oxygen. But in nanoclay there must be hydrogen and also sodium. Also the SEM image shows that the particles have flakes or spherical. Isn't it true that the SEM image of nanoclay should be flat and lamellar since it has large aspect ratio ? Can I conclude that this isn't nanoclay ?
MMT is 2:1 (tetrahedral:octahedral) layered alumino-silicates. The composition what you have mentioned looks OK. The interlayer cations may be Ca2+ in ur case instead of Na+. You have to measure the ion exchange capacity to check whether you have Na+. There is a standard process for doing so. Plz carry out XRD to check the interlayer distance. The individual layer thickness is ~1nm are agglomerated hence difficult to see the lamellar or flat structure under SEM.
Okay. May be after sonication along with some polymer, may be the individual layers might be visible. But does nanoclay have hydroxyls according to its chemical formula and structure ?
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