Transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM) reveals the nanostructure of a smectite gel

The unusual behavior of smectites, the ability to change volume when wetted (swelling) or dried (shrinking), makes soil rich in smectites very unstable and dangerous for the building industry because of the movement of building foundations and poor slope stability. These macroscopic properties are d...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. - 1992. - 24(2008), 16 vom: 19. Aug., Seite 8954-8
1. Verfasser: Zbik, Marek S (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Martens, Wayde N, Frost, Ray L, Song, Yen-Fang, Chen, Yi-Ming, Chen, Jian-Hua
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2008
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Gels Silicates Smectite A3N5ZCN45C
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:The unusual behavior of smectites, the ability to change volume when wetted (swelling) or dried (shrinking), makes soil rich in smectites very unstable and dangerous for the building industry because of the movement of building foundations and poor slope stability. These macroscopic properties are dominated by the structural arrangement of the smectites' finest fraction. Here, we show in three dimensions how the swelling phenomenon in smectite, caused by a combination of hydratation and electrostatic forces, may expand the dry smectite volume not 10-fold, as previously thought, but to more than 1000-fold. A new technique, transmission X-ray microscopy, makes it possible to investigate the internal structure and 3-D tomographic reconstruction of clay aggregates. This reveals, for the first time, the smectite gel arrangement in the voluminous cellular tactoid structure within a natural aqueous environment
Beschreibung:Date Completed 17.09.2008
Date Revised 15.11.2012
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1520-5827
DOI:10.1021/la800986t