Fig. 1: Cation exchanged vermiculite laminates. | Nature Communications

Fig. 1: Cation exchanged vermiculite laminates.

From: Cation-controlled wetting properties of vermiculite membranes and its promise for fouling resistant oil–water separation

Fig. 1

a Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of exfoliated lithium vermiculite flakes. Scale bar, 10 µm. Inset: Photograph of an aqueous dispersion of exfoliated vermiculite. b X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of free-standing K-, Sn-, La-, Li-, and Ca-vermiculite laminates in vacuum dried (12 h), ambient (∽40% relative humidity) and wet states. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. Inset: Photo of a 5-µm-thick free-standing Li-vermiculite laminate. Scale bar, 1 cm. It is noteworthy that the distribution of interlayer spacing of ion-exchanged vermiculite laminates significantly changes after its exposure to water or humid air. This suggests that the hydration of the membrane influences the quality of the laminar structure of the membrane.

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