Size Reduction of Clay Particles in Nanometer Dimensions
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Size Reduction of Clay Particles in Nanometer Dimensions Gopinath Mani, Qinguo Fan, Samuel C. Ugbolue, and Isabelle M. Eiff, Department of Textile Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA.
Abstract This research work focuses on combining ball milling and ultrasonication to produce nano-size clay particles. Our work also emphasizes on increasing the specific surface area of montmorillonite clay particles by reducing the particle size to nanometer dimensions. We have characterized the as-received clay particles by using particle size analysis based on laser diffraction and found that the size of the clay particles is not consistent and the particle size distribution is very broad. However, after the unique treatment and processing, the clay particles were obtained in nanometer dimensions with narrowed particle size distribution.
Introduction Particle size is not only a crucial parameter for polymer nanocomposites but also it plays a vital role in paints, pigments, inks, toners, chemicals, talc, drugs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, confectionery, chocolate liquor, etc. When the particle size gets reduced, the specific surface area is increased and it would increase the chemical activity of the inorganic materials1. When the high specific surface area of the particles is exposed to the polymer molecules, various properties2,3 of the polymer nanocomposites are changed. Ball milling4 is a widely used technique for particle size reduction. But the problem of agglomeration5 is always there when it is in dry powder form. One of the main mechanical effects caused by the ultrasonication6,7 is the disaggregation and deagglomeration of the particle assembly. Cavitation7 is the important phenomenon in ultrasonication. A combination of ball milling and ultrasonication can lead to an effective particle size reduction. Experimental Details Cloisite-15A (Southern Clay Products Inc, Texas) is the organophilic montmorillonite clay used in our study. Glass balls in 3 and 5 mm, stainless steel balls in 5 and 8 mm were also used. Thumblers tumbler (Tru-Square metal products, WA) was used for ball milling. Ultrasonic Processor CPX 750 (Cole-Parmer Instruments, IL) was used for ultrasonication process. Particle size analyzer-Mastersizer 2000 (Malvern Instruments), Scanning Electron Microscope JSM 5610 were used to characterize the particle size. Thumblers tumbler is a steel hexagon barrel with removable rubber lining and it is 9 cm in diameter and 8 cm in depth. A glass bottle, 5.5 cm in height and 2.5 cm diameter, is used inside the tumbler for the ball milling of clay. Effect of the different materials (glass and stainless steel) and different sizes (3mm, 5mm, 8mm) of balls on particle size reduction and distribution were studied. The milled particles were dispersed in xylene. Again ultrasonication was done on milled particles in xylene. An investigation on the amplitude, pulsation rate and time of the ultrasonication process was done with respect to particle size distribution and the optimum condition
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