Study of montmorillonite modification technology using polyvinylpyrrolidone

In this work, a new method of modifying montmorillonite (Mt) with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was developed, which makes it possible to obtain modified Mt with different structures and modifier content simultaneously. The essence of the method consists in mixing colloidal solutions of Mt and PVP, process-ing the mixture with ultrasound, settling, and selecting individual layers of the final solution. Several methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, have been used to characterize pure substances and to study the structure and thermal behavior of the composites. It was established that PVP macromolecules could both intercalate in the interlayer space of Mt and form exclusively exfoliated Mt. In addition, under certain conditions, Mt flocculated with PVP can be obtained. It is shown that during intercalation, PVP macromolecules displace and replace montmorillonite water in the interlayer space of clay mineral. (c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.