Clay Minerals, Surface Chemistry of Clays and Organoclays, and the Mechanisms of Organoclay Synthesis

Figure 2.1 A clay (Si4O10)4 tetrahedral (T) sheet in (a) top view and (b) side view and a clay octahedral (O) sheet in (c) top view and (d) side view. (The (Al4O12)12 dioctahedral top view is shown in (c); a (Mg6O12)12 trioctahedral top view would show a continuous sheet of octahedral units). The octahedral sheets have cations (usually aluminum or magnesium) that are coordinated with six oxygens or hydroxyls, and these units are covalently linked into a sheet structure as well.