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Aqueous dispersions of pure sodium and calcium smectite clays with platelet sizes on the order of a few hundred nanometers were characterized using a combination of cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). With monovalent sodium counterions the clay is dispersed as individual platelets, as seen by cryo-TEM, that order into a nematic phase. From SAXS
