Delamination of kaolinite-potassium acetate intercalates by ball-milling.

Structural changes in intercalated kaolinite after wet ball-milling were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area (SSA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The X-ray diffraction pattern at room temperature indicated that the intercalation of potassium acetate into kaolinite caused an increase of the basal spacing from 0.718 to 1.42 nm, and with the particle size reduction. The surface area increased sharply with the intercalation and delamination by ball-milling. The wet ball-milling kaolinite after intercalation did not change the structural order, and the particulates have high aspect ratio according SEM images.