Abstract
Materials resembling aluminosilicate geopolymers have been prepared from the kaolinitic 1:1 layer lattice aluminosilicate clay mineral halloysite by reaction with sodium silicate solution under alkaline conditions. The effect on geopolymer formation of pretreating the clay mineral reactant by heating, high-energy grinding or exposure to acid or alkali was monitored by the ability of the samples to cure and harden, and by XRD, 27Al and 29Si solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy. Only samples prepared from the fully thermally dehydroxylated clay showed the typical XRD and NMR geopolymer characteristics. Less complete reaction was found in samples pretreated by highly energetic grinding, whereas samples exposed to chemical pretreatment with dilute acid did not react to form viable geopolymers. Pretreatment with dilute alkali produced a zeolite which reacted with sodium silicate, but the hardened sample was not X-ray amorphous and showed subtle differences in its NMR spectra. These results are discussed in terms of the vital role played in the early stages of the reaction sequence by the presence of labile aluminium. The efficacy of the various pretreatment methods is related to their ability to render the aluminium source (the solid aluminosilicate clay) sufficiently soluble in alkali.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Davidovits J (1991) J Thermal Anal 37:1633
Barbosa VFF, MacKenzie KJD, Thaumaturgo C (2000) Int J Inorg Mater 2:309
Berg LG, Demidenko BA, Remiznikova VA, Nizamov MS (1970) Stroit Mater 10:22
MacKenzie KJD, Smith ME (2002) Multinuclear solid state NMR of inorganic materials, Pergamon Materials Series, vol 6. Pergamon/Elsevier, Oxford
MacKenzie KJD (2003) Adv. In Ceram. Matrix Composites IX, Ceram. Trans. 153:175
Singh PG, Bastow T, Trigg M (2005) J Mater Sci 40:3951
Brown IWM, MacKenzie KJD, Bowden ME, Meinhold RH (1985) J Amer Ceram Soc 68:298
Okada K, Shimai A, Takei T, Hayashi S, Yasumori A, MacKenzie KJD (1998) Microporous Mesoporous Mater 21:289
Temuujin J, Burmaa G, Amgalan J, Okada K, Jadambaa Ts, MacKenzie KJD (2001) J Porous Mater 8:233
Brew DRM, MacKenzie KJD (2005) Fresh insights into geopolymer formulations: the roles of sodium silicate and sodium aluminate. Proc. World Geopolymer Conf., St. Quentin, France, p 27
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MacKenzie, K.J.D., Brew, D.R.M., Fletcher, R.A. et al. Formation of aluminosilicate geopolymers from 1:1 layer-lattice minerals pre-treated by various methods: a comparative study. J Mater Sci 42, 4667–4674 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0173-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-006-0173-x