“…For uncalcined FCHs, the basal spacing is 3.74 nm, reducing 0.96 nm of the lamella thickness, 2.78 nm, indicates that the hexadecylamine molecules, the co-surfactant, are oriented perpendicularly to the clay lamellae, suggesting that they have cylindrical shape in the interlayer space (scheme c), since this value is twice the size of the hexadecylmanine molecule, which is approximately 1.44 nm (diagram b). In the same diffraction pattern, a peak of low intensity with basal spacing of 0.98 nm is detected, which can be attributed to lamellar pilingnot separated by the interlayer spacing, which is an effect than is possible when protons or other small dehydrated cations migrate from unoccupied octahedral positions, resulting in the neutralization of the negative charges of clay lamella [47]. When calcined (scheme d), the material does not change the position of the characteristic peak of the basal spacing; however, the refl ection intensity is relatively reduced, featuring a non-parallel arrangement of the clay lamella, as template decomposition occurs in the calcination, which is an exothermic process, and overheating of the sample can cause disturbances in the lamellae arrangement.…”