## 4 Conclusions  
The effect of layered silicates on the high- and low-temperature properties of bitumen was studied. Based on the test results and discussion, the main conclusions can be drawn as follows:  
Figure 10: The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test result for bitumen specimens: (**a**) Determination of T\({}_{\beta}\); (**b**) T\({}_{\beta}\) result.  
Figure 9: (**a,b**) The \(S\) and m-value results at -18 \({}^{\circ}\)C for bitumen samples.  
1. MMT, REC, OMMT, and OREC are all intercalated structures, wherein OREC has the largest interlayer space, followed by REC, OMMT, and MMT.
2. OREC endowed virgin bitumen with the best high-temperature property, contrary to MMT, and REC-modified bitumen has a similar high-temperature property to OMMT-modified bitumen. Therefore, organic treatment is conductive to the high temperature of layered silicate-modified bitumens, and REC (OREC), with a larger interlayer space and aspect ratio, restricts the motion of bitumen molecules more significantly than MMT (OMMT).
3. Compared with REC and OREC, MMT and OMMT have a smaller interlayer space and aspect ratio, and are less efficient in reducing the low-temperature property of virgin bitumen, and OMMT is the least efficient.
4. The nature of layered silicates largely affects the high and low-temperature properties of bitumen; however, this investigation is limited to one bitumen source rather than various sources, and thus further research is required.  
For research articles with several authors, a short paragraph specifying their individual contributions must be provided. The following statements should be used \"conceptualization, M.J., Z.Z. and L.W.; methodology, M.J., L.W. and X.W.; validation, Z.Z.; formal analysis, M.J.; investigation, M.J., L.W.; resources, Z.Z. and Z.M.; data curation, M.J.L. and D.Y.; writing--original draft preparation, M.J.; writing--review and editing, J.L. and D.Y.; visualization, Z.M.; funding acquisition, Z.Z.\", please turn to the CRdefiT taxonomy for the term explanation. Authorship must be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work reported.  
This research was funded by the Shaanxi Provincial Communication Construction Group (No. 17-06K), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No. 51208043) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Chang'an University (No. 300102218523).  
The authors declare no conflict of interest. There are no any personal circumstances or interest that may be perceived as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of reported research results. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results  
Abbreviations are listed in the order in which they appear in the paper.  
MMT monmorillonite OMMT organic montmorillonite REC necrotic organic streporter  
DSR dynamic shear rheometer TG thermogravimetry BBR bending beam rheometer DSC differential scanning calorimetry SBR styrene-butadiene rubber CR chloroprene rubber SBS styrenebutadiene-styrene copolymers PE poluethylene  
EVA ethylene-vinyl acetate EP epoxy VMT vermiculite SEM scanning electron microscope XRD X-ray diffraction T\({}_{\text{g}}\) glass transition temperature \(d_{001}\) interlayer space G\({}^{\ast}\)/sin\(\delta\)s Futting resistance factor \(S\) creep stiffness m-value creep rate \(Ml\) mass loss \(Rm\) residual mass