Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2018
A sample of “phenyl” montmorillonite containing 10% by weight of carbon has been examined as a sorbent for nitrogen, benzene and water. The material shows only a small loss in weight on outgassing, and there is no interlamellar sorption of nitrogen and little of either benzene or water. In its behaviour as a sorbent it thus differs notably from the natural clay, from some alkyl ammonium forms of clay, and from certain “clay esters.” The small amount of interlamellar sorbed benzene is desorbed with difficulty and is sorbed only slowly. It is concluded that nearly all the interlamellar space is filled with organic material, but it is not possible to say whether this is chemically bonded or very strongly sorbed by a physical mechanism.