Study on the ball milling modification of attapulgite

Abstract In order to improve the dispersion of attapulgite (ATP), the surface of ATP was modified by conventional ball milling, chemical modification and ball milling modification methods. The ATP samples were studied by XRD, FTIR, TG, TEM, etc. The research results show that the resulting ATP modified by conventional ball milling still has the secondary agglomeration phenomenon and partial damage phenomenon of its rod-like crystal. The surface of ATP can be effectively modified by silane coupling agent KH-550 using chemical modification and ball milling modification methods and their rod-like crystal cannot be damaged. The ball milling modification and dispersion effects for ATP was the best. The contact angle of the resulting ATP was increased by 189% , its specific surface area was increased by 218% , and the volume of the bundles and the sedimentation rate were decreased.