Montmorillonite based porous clay heterostructures: Influence of Zr in the structure and acidic properties

- New montmorillonite based porous Si/Zr clay heterostructures prepared by a sol-gel method.
- Severe delamination of the original clay particles due to insertion of silica pillars between layers of montmorillonite.
- The obtained PCHs display high values of specific surface area with micro-, meso- and macroporosity.
- The surface area and the porosity decrease and the Brönsted-type acidity increases with the addition of Zr.