Reversible collapse and Mg2+ release of de- and rehydroxylated homoionic cis-vacant montmorillonites

Homoionic Na+, Ca2+, Sr2+, Li+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ samples of the <2 μm fraction of a cis-vacant montmorillonite from Linden (Bavaria) were steam treated at 200°C (≈1.5 MPa), 240°C (≈3.3 MPa) and 300°C (≈8.0 MPa) after dehydroxylation at temperatures up to 630°C. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) measurements, determination of exchangeable cations and X-ray diffraction (XRD), supplemented by thermoanalytical investigations of the evolved water in a thermobalance linked to a mass spectrometer, infrared (IR) and electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy were employed to obtain information about the state of expandability and structural changes of swellable montmorillonite and the sites of interlayer and octahedral cations after heating and rehydroxylation. D pattern of the initial samples showed a well-defined (001) reflection according to the interlayer cation and its hydration state under laboratory atmosphere. After dehydroxylation the pattern exhibited (001) reflections between 9.6 and 9.8 Å, corresponding to a collapsed structure for all samples. The Na+-, Ca2+- and Sr2+-rich montmorillonites regained partial expandability after rehydroxylation at 200°C and full expandability after rehydroxylation at 300°C if the dehydroxylation temperature was less than 630°C. Rehydroxylation at 300°C of the Cu2+- and Zn2+-rich montmorillonites did not cause reexpansion, whereas the Li+-rich samples recovered a partial swellability after rehydroxylation at 240°C and nearly the full swellability after rehydroxylation at 300°C. +-, Cu2+- and Zn2+-rich samples underwent a strong CEC reduction due to migration of the interlayer cations into the 2:1 layer before dehydroxylation started. After rehydroxylation under water steam Cu2+- and Zn2+-rich samples released 16–30 meq/100 g of Mg2+ from the structure, increasing with the steam temperature. Mg2+ release was not observed for the Li+-rich montmorillonite.