Experimental methods to study clay minerals and perspective applications of Fluorohectorite

Abstract

Fluorohectorite is a synthetic 2:1 layer smectite clay where the presence of exchangeable cations located between water molecules in the interlayer space allows for expansion of the crystal lattice. This swelling property is extremely relevant to many applications including water treatment, bioactive molecules intercalation (drug delivery), soil remediation, CO2capture as well as extra-terrestrial environment studies. In the present chapter, the aim is to discuss why Fluorohectorite can be in particular advantageous for many applications where retention of big volumes is an issue. We will also discuss on the main experimental techniques used to study these materials.