Pillared magnetite/clay structures as a function of Ctab and Teos concentrations Available to Purchase

Inorganic magnetic materials with porous and high surface area structures have received great interest in various applications, particularly as magnetically directed adsorbents and controlled release systems for various species. In the presented study, silica pillared magnetite/clay nanocomposites (SPMCs) were prepared as a function of tetraethyl orthosilicate (Teos) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (Ctab) concentrations for potential use in adsorption and drug delivery systems. Montmorillonite (MMT) clay and magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) were used as starting materials while the silica precursor Teos was used as the pillaring agent and the cationic surfactant Ctab served as a template to aid the formation of pores. X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller), vibrating sample magnetometry, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and zeta-sizer devices were used to characterize the prepared samples. MNPs well dispersed on both the surface and between the layers of MMT. Accordingly, the prepared SPMCs showed mesoporous structures with pore diameters around 2·70–3·23 nm, large specific surface areas around 364·7–588·9 m²/g and magnetization saturation of 18·74 emu/g. Prepared SPMC-3 product presented good magnetic and textural properties which allow the use of this nano-composite as an effective adsorbent, catalyst and drug delivery system.