“…The ability of montmorillonite to donate protons (its 'surface acidity') causes the protonation of organic compounds such as amines (Yariv and Heller, 1970) and catalyzes many organic reactions, such as: the polymerization of styrene (Vallet et al, 1972); the decomposition of the diazoacetic-ester (Delvaux et al, 1964); the cracking and isomerization of hydrocarbons (Petrov, 1963) etc. A relationship has been established between the exchangeable cation and the ability of montmorillonite to donate protons to the adsorbed molecules (Russell et al, 1968;Mortland and Raman, 1968).…”