Effect of acid-treated and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide-modified montmorillonites on adsorption performance of mycotoxins.

A series of modified montmorillonites treated by acid and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) were prepared and characterized, and their adsorption performances for three mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol) were evaluated at pH 2.8 and 8.0, respectively. The results indicate that the layers of raw montmorillonite are exfoliated after acid treatment and more active sites for adsorption of weak polar mycotoxins are exposed. While the intercalation of HTAB leads to an obvious increase of the interlamellar spacing and hydrophobic character of montmorillonite. The HTAB-AMMT-3 modified by acid and HTAB exhibits excellent adsorption capacity towards aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and zearalenone (ZEA) whether in acidic or alkaline conditions compared with raw montmorillonite (MMT). However, all modified montmorillonites have low adsorption capacity for DON due to its poor planarity preventing it from entering into interfacial layer of montmorillonite.