Synthesis of a red iron oxide/montmorillonite pigment in a CO2-rich brine solution

The homoionic calcium-montmorillonite was used to synthesize a red iron oxide/clay pigment in a CO2-rich brine solution (0.5 M of NaCl) by using an agitated batch-reactor (engineer autoclave). The operating conditions were 15 days of reaction, 200 bars of pressure and 150 degrees C of temperature. SEM/EDS, STEM/EDS, XRD and Infrared Spectrometry were performed to characterize before and after reaction the solid phase. The results showed the precipitation of spherical nanoparticles (50-500 nm) of iron oxide (Fe2O3) dispersed and/or coagulated in the clay-matrix. Evidently, this oxide produced red coloration in the final product. For this case, the Fe3+ cation was provided to the aqueous solution by the dissolution of Ca-montmorillonite, particularly, the dissolution of most fine particles contained in the starting clay material. The cation exchange process and precipitation of polymorph silica were also observed.