The effect of layer rigidity on the porosity of pillared lamellar solids

We report here results of layer rigidity studies of a number of layered solids and point out the implications of these results on the useful microporosity of such materials. To asses layer rigidity, we employ binary solid-solution compounds of the general form A(1-x) B-x [L] where A (B) is the smaller (larger) pillar and [L] represents the host layer structure. The rigidity parameter and corresponding healing length were determined from the normalized basal spacing of such compounds. The porosity has been characterized through a set of porosity parameters that define the available pathways and percolation channels by which guest species access the inter-lamellar space. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.