Researchers at the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have achieved the super-dispersion of rod-like crystal bundle of attapulgite via an integration technology. With the technology, the second aggregation of rod-like crystal after super-dispersion and other key techniques have been solved as well.

Attapulgite clay is a magnesium aluminium phyllosilicate with attapulgite as the main component and layered chain structure. It is a kind of natural nanomaterial. However, there exists strong electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bond interaction between rod-like crystals of natural attapulgite clay. The rod-like crystals take on the form of stack firewood structured rod-like crystals and their aggregates. This has limited the use of attapulgite clay as nanomaterials. Therefore, the super-dispersion of aggregates of rod-like crystal bundle of attapulgite has become the key problem to be solved in the application and development of attapulgite clay.

Based on the research on pin-rollertreatment,high pressure homogenization, freeze treatment and solvent processing, researchers have achieved the super-dispersion of rod-like crystal bundle of attapulgite while kept the original length of the rod-like crystal with the integration technology, solved the second aggregation of rod-like crystal bundle after super-dispersion. The work has laid a foundation for the application of attapulgite clay.

In order to test the dispersive property of the super-dispersed rod-like crystal bundle, the application of attapulgite clay in PVA membrane has been investigated. Compared with the attapulgite clay which has not been super-dispersed, the mechanical and waterproof properties of the compound membrane have been improved greatly. This work has provided experimental research for the application of attapulgite clay in compound materials.

The “Super-dispersion technique of rod-like crystal bundle of attapulgite and its application” research project, undertaken by the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has passed the acceptance check organized by the Huaian Municipal Science and Technology Bureau on September 23 in Xuyu, Jiangsu province. The technology has proprietary intellectual property rights.