In
this study, a simple, effective, and versatile method was used
for the exfoliation of kaolinite by high-shear mixer with graphite
oxide as an an amphiphilic dispersant. During the liquid-phase exfoliation
process, the co-exfoliation of kaolinite and graphite oxide was realized.
Compared with the directly exfoliated kaolinite, when 5% graphite
oxide was added to facilitate exfoliation, 95% of the obtained nanosheets
were distributed between 0.1 and 0.7 μm, in which the number
of layers was less than 5, and part of them were curled into nanoscrolls
structure with a length of 0.2–0.9 μm. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
surface area of the graphite oxide assisted exfoliated kaolinite was
2.1 times that of the directly exfoliated kaolinite. Meanwhile, the
graphite oxide assisted exfoliated kaolinite exhibited excellent adsorption
properties for MB, whose theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was
250 mg/g, significantly higher than that of the directly exfoliated
kaolinite, which was about 111 mg/g. It has been verified that the
exfoliation method is efficient and facile and can be applied extensively.