Fe-montmorillonite (Na0.3Fe1.73+Mg0.3Si4O10(OH)(2) . H2O) was synthesized h
ydrothermally for 24 hours at 100 and 200 degrees C. XRD analysis showed th
e synthesized material to be crystalline Fe-montmorillonite without impurit
ies, with d(001) = 11-14.3 Angstrom and d(06) = 1.52-1.53 Angstrom, respect
ively. The particle size of the material was found to be > 500 Angstrom by
TEM. The X-ray photoelectron binding energy of Fe indicated that iron is pr
esent in smectite as Fe3+.