The thickness of the two-layer ethylene glycol complex of dioctahedral smectites varies under room conditions between 17.3 and 16.5 Å because of such factors as layer charge density, type of interlayer cation, and relative humidity. Neglecting this variability can give up to 30% error in the X-ray powder diffraction estimation of the smectite:illite ratio of the mixed-layer structures. Three methods have been developed for the interpretation of X-ray powder diffraction patterns of glycolated mixed-layer illite/smectite which take layer-spacing variability into account. The methods include a technique for quantifying the degree of layer ordering. In addition, the proposed techniques minimize the error due to the influence of domain size on positions of reflections. The experimental error can be kept below 5% or below 1% smectite layers, depending on the method applied, provided that the peak positions are measured with the accuracy of ± 0.02°2θ.

Model cation-exchange curves are presented for an idealized kaolinite surface where the charge on the surface (1) has its origin in cation substitution in the structure, and hence, is pH independent; and (2) is produced by protonation/deprotonation reactions of oxide-like sites, and hence, depends on the acid and base strengths of the surface sites, as well as the ionic strength. Two pH-independent situations are considered: one where the exchanging ions have no selectivity for the surface and are all in the diffuse layer; and one where selectivity exists for one ion and where that ion is partly in a Langmuir-Stern layer and partly in the diffuse layer. If one of the exchanging ions is a proton, the shape of the curves and their position on the pH scale depend on ionic strength and ionic selectivity.

The model curves are compared with data for actual kaolinites. Under most conditions exchangeable Al is released from the structure, and the shape of the charging curves becomes similar to that of an oxidelike surface. However, if titration is carried out rapidly, or account is taken of the presence of Al, the proton binding curves are similar in shape to those expected for sites resulting from cation substitution in the structure of kaolinite, either near the surface or at the edge of the crystal.

Mixed-layer kaolinite/smectites containing 40–90% kaolinite layers have been synthesized from Wyoming smectite. Run times were 4 months at 156°C in solutions of A1C13∙6H2O and KCl or CaCl2. Similar KCl runs devoid of Al3+ yielded mixed-layer illite/smectites. The supply of Al3+, rather than pK or pH, seems to control the alteration of smectite toward kaolinite or illite.

Chelating organic acids hampered the hydrolytic reactions of Al and affected the nature of the crystalline aluminum hydroxides. Chemical composition, structure, size, nature of functional groups, and concentration of each organic anion, as well as the pH of the system, controlled the rate of Al(OH)3 crystallization. The order of effectiveness of the various acids was: glutaric < succinic = phthalic < glycine < malonic < glutamic < aspartic < oxalic < salicylic = malic < citric < tartaric. An increase in the stability of complexes formed between the organic ligands and Al decreased the rate of crystallization and changed the final aluminous products from bayerite to nordstrandite and/or gibbsite and then to pseudoboehmite and/or amorphous material. In the presence of anions with a great affinity for Al, particularly at pH equal to or less than 9.0, the reaction products were commonly poorly crystalline or structurally distorted. In the range of pH 8.0 to 10.0 moderately or strongly chelating anions acted to retard or prevent olation and facilitated the formation of stable pseudoboehmite or X-ray-amorphous products. The stronger the chelating power or the higher the concentration of organic anions, the easier was the formation of pseudoboehmite or amorphous material.

Hydroxy-Al- and hydroxy-Mg-montmorillonite were prepared by treating dispersed Na-montmorillonite with aluminum and magnesium nitrate solutions and titrating with NaOH solutions so that the OH/Al ratio varied from zero to 3.0 and the OH/Mg ratio from zero to 2.0. External precipitation of Al and Mg hydroxides was observed when the OH/M ratios (M = metal) approached 3 and 2, respectively. From chemical analyses of the initial Na-montmorillonite and the hydroxy-metal montmorillonites, structural formulae were derived by assuming that the silicate layer compositions remained unchanged. Prior to the addition of NaOH, the average interlayer material approximated in composition to [Al(OH)2]+ and [Mg(OH)]+. With additions of NaOH the interlayer compositions moved progressively towards Al(OH)3 and Mg(OH)2. When the hydroxy interlayers approached completion, external precipitation was observed. X-ray powder diffraction data showed that the hydroxy-Mg products have less tendency to swell in ethylene glycol and water, and greater thermal stability than the hydroxy-Al products. Initially, when the average interlayer compositions were near Al(OH)2 and Mg(OH), swelling followed more nearly the normal behavior.