Structural Characterization of Aniline-Bentonite Composite by FTIR, DTA/TG, and PXRD Analyses and BET Measurement

The aniline species incorporated into the acid-activated bentonite matrices leads to the decay of the skeletal stretches centered at 1041 cm−1 and the rise of new features in the phenyl ring frequency region, 1700–1400 cm−1, demonstrates clearly the influence of the acid activation on the Lewis sites necessary for coordination of aniline to bentonite. The exothermic DTA features at 507, 684, and 725°C indicate the release of both the clusters and the decomposed fragments of the aniline-clay composite, and the highly stable carbonaceous residue, respectively. The basal difference by ∼1.0 nm and the much smaller surface area (33.8 m2/g) than that of the nonintercalated bentonite (129.2 m2/g) prove the presence of the tilted aniline species between the interlamellar grooves of the bentonite framework.