Hydrophilicity of Organically Modified Montmorillonite and Effect on Benzene Adsorption by the Molecular Dynamics Method.

Interlayer modification of layered materials with organocations has been known to endow the nanocomposite with hydrophobicity, and adsorption of aromatic compounds in the aqueous phase has been investigated for decades by using montmorillonite, a representative layered clay mineral, as the host material. Usage of the organocation has been believed to be effective due to the π-π interaction with the aromatic adsorbate, the presence of which is not verified spectroscopically in the water-immersed state. Considering that the organocation is generally regarded as a pillar to keep the interlayer space, the interaction between the organocation and adsorbate has not yet been clarified sufficiently.