Heterostructured Nanohybrid of Zinc Oxide-Montmorillonite Clay

Abstract

We have synthesized heterostructured zinc oxide-aluminosilicate nanohybrids through a hydrothermal reaction between the colloidal suspension of exfoliated montmorillonite nanosheets and the sol solution of zinc acetate. According to X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and field emission-scanning electron microscopic analyses, it was found that the intercalation of zinc oxide nanoparticles expands the basal spacing of the host montmorillonite clay, and the crystallites of the nanohybrids are assembled to form a house-of-cards structure. From UV-vis spectroscopic investigation, it becomes certain that calcined nanohybrid contains two kinds of the zinc oxide species in the interlayer space of host lattice and in mesopores formed by the house-of-cards type stacking of the crystallites. Zn K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure/extended X-ray absorption fine structure analyses clearly demonstrate that guest species in the nanohybrids exist as nanocrystalline zinc oxides with wurzite-type structure.

Experimental and theoretical study of quercetin complexes formed on pure silica and Zn-modified mesoporous MCM-41 and SBA-16 materials

“…Diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopic investigation evidenced the formation of ZnO nanoparticles and incorporation of Zn into the silica matrix. UV-Vis spectra of the zinc modified silica carriers can be seen in Fig 3. The semiconductor bulk ZnO phase can be characterized by a broad absorption band at around 350 nm, assigned to the O 2-/ Zn 2+ ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) transition [45,46]. Our Zn-MCM-41 and Zn-SBA-16 samples show absorption bands at 275 and 225 nm ( Fig.…”

“…The bands appearing below 230 nm are generally associated with the charge transfer transitions of framework zinc species with lattice O 2-when metal atoms are incorporated into the silica framework, e.g. in zeolites and nanostructure silicates [46]. Analogically to zeolites and clay minerals, the band around 280 nm can be considered as encapsulated zinc-oxide nanoparticles with size of 1-2 nm [47,48].…”

Removal of aqueous toxic Hg(II) by synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles and TiO2/montmorillonite

“…The amount of TiO 2 introduced and remaining in the montmorillonite depends on the duration of impregnation and/or the ion exchange procedure. The general schemes for the production of functional nano-structured materials based on delaminated layered silicate particles have also been discussed by some investigators [32,48]. The other possible mechanisms in forming the TiO 2 /montmorillonite included the spaces or pores generated by the 3D co-aggregation of the particles, which was related to the preparation method of nano-structured materials [46].…”

ZnO/Sepiolite Catalysts – Characterization and Photoactivity Measurements

“…Silicate adsorbents engineered with photocatalytic ingredients, for example, tailoring the aluminosilicate layers and their surfaces with nanostructured semiconducting photocatalysts, can make them multifunctional composites and heterogeneous catalysts [8]. ZnO/clay system reveals the potential of this composite for various applications [9][10][11][12]. Among clay minerals, the usage of sepiolite as a support material is rarely reported [13][14][15][16][17][18].…”