The ultrasound effect of cationic surfactant on the preparation of natural bentonite Nisam, North Aceh.

The preparation of natural bentonite Nisam, North Aceh by cationic surfactant were investigated under ultrasound. A cationic surfactant, Cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) were intercalated into natural bentonite from Nisam, North Aceh in aqueous solution. The solutions were exposed to 37 kHz ultrasound irradiation within 20 - 100 min. The modified bentonites were compared with raw bentonite. It was found that preparation with sonication has improved the interlayer spacing of bentonite by the intercalation of CTAB, and the improvement is getting higher with increasing of reaction time, as confirmed by the XRD patterns. FTIR measurements of modified bentonite indicate the incorporation of surfactants into bentonite. SEM analysis proved that increasing reaction time affect the morphology of bentonite.