CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SOLIDS OBTAINED BY PILLARING OF GRIFFITHITE (HIGH IRON CONTENT SAPONITE) WITH AL-OLIGOMERS

Griffithite, a high Fe content saponite (Griffith Park, California) wa s pillared with Al polymeric solutions, using different Al/clay ratios . The cation exchange began when Al-polycation solutions were added, b eing completed during the dialysis of the samples. Pillared solids wer e obtained by calcination of intercalated precursors at 500 degrees C. The content of Al2O3 increased from 7.35% in the natural griffithite to about 14% in the pillared samples, equivalent to the fixation of ab out 1.4 mmol Al per g of clay. The surface areas of the pillared griff ithite were between 230-300 m(2) g(-1). The intercalation and pillarin g of griffithite were easier than that of a less-crystalline nonferrou s saponite.