Properties of Li exchanged tetrasilicic fluoro mica (Li-TSM) and synthesis of composites with antimicrobial and antifungal agents

Synthetic mica has more high thermostability than natural mica and can be controlled expandability and cation-exchange-capacity (CEC) by changing magnitude of effective-layer-charge (ELC). In this study, we prepared lithium-type tetra silicic mica (Li-TSM) from Na-TSM by ion exchange method. This mica is one of the expansible synthetic fluoro mica but a few details had been attempted. The negative charge in silicate layer of Li-TSM can be controlled by adjusting the amount of Al³⁺-fixation, and the CEC is controllable. When the CEC of Li-TSM had been controlled by partially fixation of Al³⁺ to Li-TSM ((Al, Li)-HTSM), their swelling ability increased and their introducable capacity of organic compounds into interlayer also increased more than Na-TSM. Furthermore, the composites of (Al, Ag)-HTSM, which is Ag⁺-exchanged complex from (AI, Li)-HTSM, and (Al, Ag)-HTSM-TBZ(thiazole) complex, which has antifungal activity, was synthesized. The rate of elution of Ag⁺ from this TBZ composite was inhibited than (Al, Ag)-HTSM. We thought that this was caused by chelation of Ag⁺ and TBZ in interlayer. These composites had an antimicrobial and antifungal activity and this activity was observed for samples heat-treated up to at 400°C where TBZ in TSM interlayer decomposed completely.