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Cadmium sulfide and zinc sulfide (CdS and ZnS) were incorporated in sodium and cetyltrimethylammonium montmorillonites by the precipitation of sulfides from soluble metal sources in the presence of montmorillonites. The resulting hybrids were characterized by XRD, themogravimetric/differential thermal analysis (TG‐DTA), TEM, Raman spectroscopy, and UV/Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The absorption onsets owing to CdS and ZnS in cetyltrimethylammonium‐montmorillonite appeared in a shorter wavelength region (311–520 nm) relative to that (309–484 nm) of the two semiconductors in sodium montmorillonite, thus reflecting the difference in the particle sizes of CdS and ZnS in the hybrids. The appearance of the broad emission bands combined with the bands centered at 469, 451, 440, and 431 nm owing to CdS and ZnS were attributed to the existence of both CdS and ZnS in the products. The difference in the emission intensity of the hybrids is discussed in terms of the role of the cetyltrimethylammonium cation. The unique optical properties of the two products were thought to occur through the interactions of sulfides with their environment (montmorillonite and cetyltrimethylammonium cation).

Zinc oxide has been immobilized in layered clay minerals (natural montmorillonite and synthetic saponite) by ion exchange and simultaneous oxidation. The products exhibit blueshifted absorption bands (onsets at 346 and 374 nm for the montmorillonite and saponite systems, respectively) compared with that of bulk zinc oxide (393 nm), thereby showing the formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The samples are characterized by the broad photoluminescence centered at 545 nm [a]