Interlamellar silylation of H-kenyaite with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane

H-kenyaite was modified by interlayer surface silylation using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and dodecylamine in ethanol without a pre-swelling step. Dodecylamine acts as a gallery expander and silylation catalyst. The evaporation of ethanol from the dispersion yields well-ordered silylated kenyaites with large basal spacings between 4.12 and 5.12 nm. Solid-state 29Si MAS NMR of the silylated samples showed Q3 and Q4 signals as well as T2 and T3 signals. The increase in the relative intensity of Q4 for Q3 and the appearance of T2 and T3 signals was attributed to the grafting of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to the interlayer surface silanol groups.