PHOTOPHYSICAL AND PHOTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF PILLARED CLAYS

Hydroxy-aluminum-pillared montmorillonite and hectorite and tetraalkylammonium-pillared hectorite were prepared and studied. Enhancements in adsorptive properties are reported for the pillared materials. Photochemical quenching of intercalated ion-exchanged tris(bipyridine)ruthenium probe molecules is used to track the timed penetration of reactive species into the interlamellar region from solution. The microporosity of the alkylammonium-pillared clays depends on the degree of layer separation as does the extent to which the pores are blocked by the alkyl substituents. Studies utilizing gas-phase oxygen to react with tris(bipyridine)ruthenium intercalated within the pillared clays as dry powders report on the microporosity of the various clay samples. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.