Nanoarchitectonics of Illite-Based Materials: Effect of Metal Oxides Intercalation on the Mechanical Properties

Clay minerals inevitably interact with colloidal oxides (mainly iron and aluminum oxides) in the evolution of natural geomaterials. However, the interaction between the clay minerals and the colloidal oxides affecting the stability and the strength of geotechnical materials remains poorly understood. In the present work, the interaction between the clay minerals and the colloidal oxides was investigated by reaction molecular dynamics simulations to explore the mechanical properties of illite-based materials. It was found that the metal atoms of the intercalated amorphous iron and aluminum oxides interact with oxygen atoms of the silica tetrahedron at the interface generating chemical bonds to enhance the strength of the illite-based materials considerably. The deformation and failure processes of the hybrid illite-based structures illustrated that the Al-O bonds were more favorable to the mechanical properties' improvement of the hybrid system compared with Fe-O bonds. Moreover, the anisotropy of illite was greatly improved with metal oxide intercalation. This study provides new insight into the mechanical properties' improvement of clay-based materials through metal oxides intercalation.

Automated summary

This study investigates the interaction between clay minerals and colloidal oxides and its impact on the mechanical properties of geotechnical materials. The results show that the intercalated amorphous iron and aluminum oxides can chemically bond with clay minerals, significantly enhancing the strength of the materials, with aluminum-oxygen bonds being more favorable for improving mechanical properties.