Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Hybrid and Composite Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2022) | Viewed by 10243

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Physics, Rostov State Transport University, Narodnogo Opolcheniya Sq., 344038 Rostov-on-Don, Russia
2. Mineralica Limited Liability Company, Skolkovo Innovation Center, 42 Bolshoy Boulevard, 121205 Moscow, Russia
Interests: mineralogy; crystallography; geochemistry; mineral resources; clay minerals; polymer nanocomposites; geopolymers; molecular dynamics; density functional theory; Monte Carlo simulation

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Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Physics, Rostov State Transport University, Narodnogo Opolcheniya Sq., 344038 Rostov-on-Don, Russia
2. Mineralica Limited Liability Company, Skolkovo Innovation Center, 42 Bolshoy Boulevard, 121205 Moscow, Russia
Interests: solid-state physics and chemistry; mineral surfaces; mineral-water interface and organic molecules
Geosciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53144, USA
Interests: crystal structure of clay minerals; interactions of crystals with environmental contaminants; environmental remediations using nano materials and Earth materials
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Surface-related phenomena in clay minerals are extremely widespread, diverse, and of great practical importance. Adsorption, wetting, dispersion, coagulation, sedimentation, structure formation, capillary, electrokinetic, and other phenomena in clay minerals lie at the basis of a lot of geological, technological and biological processes. Today, the importance of a deep understanding of these phenomena has dramatically increased in connection with the rapid development of nanotechnology, which includes the modification of the surface of clay minerals through physical and chemical manipulations; they are in turn widely used as a base or a component of hybrid and composite materials, highly efficient sorbents, catalysts, functional coatings, and many other advanced materials. Thus, the high importance of research on these aspects determines the topic of the presented Special Issue. 

This Special Issue provides a forum for describing and discussing new, original, and high-quality research that contributes to a better understanding of surfaces and interfaces of clay minerals. We call for papers presenting the results of research on fundamental and applied aspects of this area, including but not limited to the following:

  • Physical, chemical, and biological phenomena and processes occurring at surfaces and interfaces of clay minerals;
  • Surface engineering, modification, and functionalization of clay minerals;
  • Characterization of clay minerals relevant to the understanding of the surface and interface properties;
  • Theoretical calculations/modeling on surfaces and interfaces of clay minerals;
  • Interactions at surfaces of clay minerals relevant to various biomedical, environmental, and engineering applications.

Dr. Georgy Lazorenko
Dr. Anton Kasprzhitskii
Dr. Zhaohui Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • Clays
  • Clay minerals
  • Surfaces and interfacial interactions
  • Colloid and surface phenomena
  • Advanced clay-containing and clay-based materials

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 155 KiB  
Editorial
Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals
by Georgy Lazorenko, Anton Kasprzhitskii and Zhaohui Li
Crystals 2022, 12(3), 357; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst12030357 - 07 Mar 2022
Viewed by 1277
Abstract
This Special Issue is a collection of five original articles devoted to both experimental and theoretical studies of phenomena and processes occurring at surfaces of clay minerals and related materials [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

15 pages, 7145 KiB  
Article
Removal of Toluidine Blue and Safranin O from Single and Binary Solutions Using Zeolite
by Yan Shi, Xisen Wang, Xin Wang, Kristen Carlson and Zhaohui Li
Crystals 2021, 11(10), 1181; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11101181 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2180
Abstract
The studies on dye removal from solutions attracted great attention due to the increased use of color dyes in different fields. However, most of the studies were focused on dye removal from a single solution. In reality, wastewater from the fabric industry could [...] Read more.
The studies on dye removal from solutions attracted great attention due to the increased use of color dyes in different fields. However, most of the studies were focused on dye removal from a single solution. In reality, wastewater from the fabric industry could contain mixed dyes. As such, evaluating different dye removal from mixed solutions may have more practical importance. In terms of sorbents evaluated for dye removal, most of them were an organic type generated from agricultural wastes. Clay minerals and zeolites were also studied extensively, because of the vast reserves, inexpensive material cost, larger specific surface area (SSA) and high cation exchange capacity (CEC). However, evaluating the factors controlling the dye removal from mixed dye solutions was limited. In this study, the removal of cationic dyes safranin O (SO) and toluidine blue (TB) by clinoptilolite zeolite (ZEO) was evaluated under single and binary systems. The results showed that removal of TB was preferred over SO by approximately a 2:1 ratio. The counterion Cl sorption from mixed dye solution helped the formation of mixed dye aggregates on mineral surfaces. Molecular dynamic simulation confirmed the multilayer mixed dye formation on ZEO under high loading levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals)
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14 pages, 22821 KiB  
Article
Ab Initio Simulation of the IR Spectrum of Hydrated Kaolinite
by Victor Yavna, Tatiana Nazdracheva, Andrey Morozov, Yakov Ermolov and Andrei Kochur
Crystals 2021, 11(9), 1146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11091146 - 20 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1746
Abstract
The hydration of the basal surfaces of kaolinite is studied by theoretical methods. The cluster method was used to simulate the positions of atoms. The positions of the atoms of the basal surfaces of dry and hydrated minerals are optimized by minimizing the [...] Read more.
The hydration of the basal surfaces of kaolinite is studied by theoretical methods. The cluster method was used to simulate the positions of atoms. The positions of the atoms of the basal surfaces of dry and hydrated minerals are optimized by minimizing the total energy in the Hartree–Fock approximation. The adsorption energies of water molecules were calculated taking into account the fourth-order correlation corrections of Møller–Plesset perturbation theory. The formation of the IR spectrum of kaolinite in the range of wave numbers 2500–4500 cm−1 is studied. The experimentally observed effect of the change in relative intensity and position of the band with a change in the moisture content of the sample is interpreted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals)
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15 pages, 1995 KiB  
Article
Fabrication and Characterization of Clay-Polyethylene Composite Opted for Shielding of Ionizing Radiation
by S. F. Olukotun, S. T. Gbenu, K. O. Oyedotun, O. Fasakin, M. I. Sayyed, G. O. Akindoyin, H. O. Shittu, M. K. Fasasi, Mayeen Uddin Khandaker, Hamid Osman and Basem H. Elesawy
Crystals 2021, 11(9), 1068; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11091068 - 03 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1727
Abstract
This study fabricated and characterized a self-sustaining hydrogenous content clay-polyethylene composite opted for ionizing radiation shielding. Composites designated A–G were fabricated each containing 0–30 wt% of recycled low density polyethylene (LDPE), respectively. To know the effects of the incorporated LDPE on the morphology, [...] Read more.
This study fabricated and characterized a self-sustaining hydrogenous content clay-polyethylene composite opted for ionizing radiation shielding. Composites designated A–G were fabricated each containing 0–30 wt% of recycled low density polyethylene (LDPE), respectively. To know the effects of the incorporated LDPE on the morphology, microstructural, compressive strength, thermal property and displacement effect on the vital elements were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), universal mechanical testing machine, differential thermal analysis (DTA), Rutherford backscattering (RBS) technique and particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), respectively. The bulk densities of the clay composites ranged between 1.341 and 2.030 g/cm3. The samples’ XRD analysis revealed similar patterns, with a sharp and prominent peak at angle 2θ equals ~26.11°, which matched with card number 16-0606 of the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) that represents Aluminum Silicate Hydroxide (Al2Si2O5(OH)4), a basic formula for Kaolin clay. The compressive strength ranged between 2.52 and 5.53 MPa. The ratio of Si to Al in each composite is about 1:1. The dehydroxylation temperature for samples ranged between 443.23 °C and 555.23 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals)
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18 pages, 1861 KiB  
Article
Molecular Dynamics Simulation in the Interlayer of Mixed-Layer Clays Due to Hydration and Swelling Mechanism
by Yu Yang, Sanjeev Adhikari and Guoyuan Xu
Crystals 2021, 11(6), 586; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/cryst11060586 - 23 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2232
Abstract
The swelling behavior of clay minerals is widely known for its importance in soil and environmental sciences and its detrimental effects in engineering fields. Although more than 70 percent of all clays are of mixed-layer types, the vast majority of the previous experiments [...] Read more.
The swelling behavior of clay minerals is widely known for its importance in soil and environmental sciences and its detrimental effects in engineering fields. Although more than 70 percent of all clays are of mixed-layer types, the vast majority of the previous experiments and simulations are focused on pure clays, which cause the swelling mechanism of the widespread mixed-layer clay (MLC) and its role in soils are little understood, especially the most common illite-montmorillonite (I-M) mixed-layer clay (MLC). This paper reports on a molecular dynamics (MD) study of the differences in swelling behavior between I-M MLCs containing K+ and Na+ and Na-montmorillonite (MMT). It captures the evolution of quantitative properties such as basal spacing d, interaction energy, and many hydrogen bonds in the clay interlayer, increasing hydration for the first time through the scripts. It is found that MLCs have smaller swellings than Na-MMT due to the asymmetric interlayer charges and mixed counterions in the I-M interlayer. However, in terms of the interaction energy for the in-depth reason of swelling, it is found that the clay-clay interaction energy and the clay-ion interaction energy drop, while the clay-water interaction energy increases with increasing hydration. In addition, the attractive interaction of clay-bound water seriously promotes swelling, and it is mainly composed of Coulomb interaction and Van der Waals interaction. The higher the K+ concentration, the more noticeable these phenomena are. Besides, it is also reported that the number and distribution mechanism of hydrogen bonds in MLCs are very different from that of pure clay. This work provides insight into the molecular mechanism for initial swelling and clay-bound water interaction in widespread MLCs. This will help to decipher its specific role in soils and minimize clay swelling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Surfaces and Interfaces of Clay Minerals)
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