Estimation of surface area of montmorillonite by ethylene oxide chain adsorption.

This study investigates the feasibility of using ethylene oxide chain adsorption to determine the surface area of an expandable clay, montmorillonite. Experimental results indicate that high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) or nonionic surfactant with long ethylene oxide chain should be used to provide reasonable estimations for monolayer capacity. The method has advantages over Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller method in that it is readily applicable to a wide range of areas, particularly to 2:1 layer silicates under aqueous conditions.