PIGE and XRF analysis of a nano-composite pillared layered clay material for nuclear waste applications

A special tailored aluminium pillared montmorillonite was prepared for radiostrontium removal in complex ionic environment. In a first series of experiments, the methods of PIGE and XRF were used to characterise the material as a cation exchanger. Furthermore, the charge carried by the pillars, a critical quantity of the pillaring process, was estimated. A qualitative model for the organisation and structural evolution of the clay lamellas from the nm to the mm scale was developed. The possible use of a microbeam for quantitative studies of pillared clays will be discussed