XRD and HRTEM Evidence for Fixation of Cesium Ions in Vermiculite Clay

X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed that cesium ions (Cs+’s) in a vermiculite clay formed a segregated monoionic layer in the interlayer spaces. Each ion was fixed simultaneously at the centers of hexagonal rings in the upper and lower silicate tetrahedral sheets. No Cs+ was eluted even when Cs+–vermiculite was kept at 80 °C for 48 h in the presence of a large excess of Al(NO3)3 or [Co(NH3)6]Cl3.