Cr-pillared interlayered clays (Cr-PILCs) have been prepared from natural calcium bentonite originating from a Romanian deposit and the effect of some parameters on the chemical and textural properties have been investigated. The crude bentonite and the derived materials were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption technique, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The specific surface area values, the pore size distribution, morphological characteristics and the basal spacing of the Cr-PILCs are strongly affected by the process parameters. The influence of three relevant factors (metal/clay ratio, calcination temperature and calcination duration) on the specific surface areas of the Romanian Cr-PILCs was investigated using a 3 3 factorial design methodology. The optimum conditions to obtain CrPILCs with a specific surface area of 183 m 2 /g (more than four times higher than the raw material) were as follows: metal/clay ratio of 10 mmols/g, calcination temperature 300°C and calcination duration 60 min. The model developed in this paper predicts very well the experimental results. Due to the high porosity and adsorption properties, the prepared Cr-PILCs have great potential in remediation of industrial liquid effluents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.