The morphological and structural changes in smectite caused by hexadecyltrimethylammonium (HDTMA) treatment were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The HDTMA-exchanged smectite shows not only morphological features such as irregular, wavy surface with curled edges, but also structural features such as large d-spacings (20 – 26 Å ) and lattice distortions. The surface morphological heterogeneity is assumed to be related to the inhomogeneous intercalation of HDTMA cations into the interlayer of smectite.
