Organo-Metallic Complexes and Phyllosilicate

The interaction between Cu exchanged smectites with different layer charge minerals and alpha amino acids glycine and cysteine were studied. A wide variety of analytical techniques were employed namely chemical analyses on solution and mineral, X ray diffraction at room temperature and in the temperature range between 25 and 400 °C, thermal analyses and evolved gasses mass spectrometry.The results suggest that: i) the amount of metal sorbed depends on pH and concentration of solution; ii) organo-metallic complexes are formed in the interalyer region and variations in the Cu local environment occur following treatments with amino acid solution.