Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-16T13:25:33.533Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Use of atomic force microscopy for examining wet clay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Arunkumar Selvam ,
Chun Hwa See ,
Brian Barkdoll ,
Shyam Prasad  and
John O’Haver
Arunkumar Selvam
Affiliation:
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Chun Hwa See
Affiliation:
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Mississippi, MS 38677 USA
Brian Barkdoll*
Affiliation:
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA
Shyam Prasad
Affiliation:
Civil Engineering Department, University of Mississippi, MS 38677, USA
John O’Haver
Affiliation:
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Mississippi, MS 38677, USA
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: barkdoll@mtu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Clays and their composites have been widely used for secondary containment walls for underground storage tanks and landfills. The pore-size changes occurring in the clay have a profound effect on its permeability. This study presents a new method for evaluating the use of an atomic force microscope (AFM) for studying wet clay in a non-aqueous state in order to determine the pore-size of clay at various water contents, a type of study typically performed by the more expensive environmental scanning electronic microscope. The method consists of mounting a sponge saturated with water under the sample in order to prevent drying by the heat generated by the AFM electronics. The micro-scale AFM image results show that the clay-particle separations reduce linearly as the water content increases. This change in pore-size is postulated to be attributed to the reduction in the size of the diffuse double layer and more extensive hydrogen bonds between clay particles and bipolar water molecules. The AFM was not able to produce nano-scale images due to excessive adhesion between the cantilever arm and the wet clay sample.

Keywords

ClayConductivityContaminationGasolineMicroscopeMineralsPermeabilityPorosityWater
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , February 2006 , pp. 25 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © 2006, The Clay Minerals Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, D.C. Crawley, W. and Zabcik, D., (1985) Conductivity of compacted clay soils to water and organic liquids Waste Management and Research 3 339–349 10.1177/0734242X8500300142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bickmore, B.R. Hochella, M.F. Jr. Bosbach, D. and Charlet, L., (1999) Methods for performing atomic force microscopy imaging of clay minerals in aqueous solutions Clays and Clay Minerals 47 573–581 10.1346/CCMN.1999.0470504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borgesson, L. Karnland, O. and Johannesson, L.-E., (1996) Modelling the physical behavior of clay barriers close to water saturation Engineering Geology 41 127–144 10.1016/0013-7952(95)00030-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garnaes, J. Lindgreen, H. Hansen, P.L. Gould, S.A.C. and Hansma, P.K., (1992) Atomic force microscopy of ultrafine clay particles Ultramicroscopy 42–44 1428–1432 10.1016/0304-3991(92)90460-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hueckel, M. Kaczmarek, M. and Caramuscio, P., (1997) Theoretical assessment of fabric and permeability changes in clays affected by organic contaminants The Canadian Geotechinical Journal 34 588–603 10.1139/t97-013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keren, R. and Singer, M.J., (1990) Effect of pH on permeability of clay-sand mixture containing hydroxy polymers Soil Science Society of America Journal 54 1310–1315 10.2136/sssaj1990.03615995005400050018x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Low, P.F. (1994) Clay/water interface and its role in the environment. Progress in Colloid and Polymer Science, v. 95, Surfactants and Colloids in the Environment, 98–107.Google Scholar
Occelli, M.L. Gould, S.A.C. and Drake, B., (1994) Atomic scale imaging of pillared rectorite catalysts with the atomic force microscope Microporous Materials 2 205–215 10.1016/0927-6513(93)E0052-I.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odom, J.W. and Low, P.F., (1978) Relation between swelling, surface area and B dimension of Na-montmorillonites Clays and Clay Minerals 26 345–351 10.1346/CCMN.1978.0260505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sposito, G. Hartman, H. Manne, S. Gould, A.C. and Hansma, P.K., (1990) Molecular-scale imaging of clay mineral surfaces with the atomic force microscope Clays and Clay Minerals 38 337–342 10.1346/CCMN.1990.0380401.Google Scholar
Yamanaka, S. Malla, P.B. and Komarneni, S., (1990) Water adsorption properties of alumna pillared clay Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 134 51–58 10.1016/0021-9797(90)90250-R.CrossRefGoogle Scholar