Intercalation assembly of acetate intercalated layered double hydroxide and montmorillonite

Acetate-intercalated layered double hydroxide (Aco-LDH) was prepared by ion-exchange of NO3-LDH with sodium acetate trihydrate. The Aco-LDH was delaminated by ultrasonic processing in aqueous solution and montmorillonite (MMT) was dispersed into lamella in water. The LDH/MMT layered composite was gained by electrostatic attraction of delaminated LDH nanosheets with the interlayer of MMT. The composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) and N2-adsorption/desorption. The results show that the thickness of delaminated Aco-LDH nanosheets was 5 nm to 20 nm at the Aco-LDH concentration of 1 mg/mL. The LDH/MMT layered composite obtained by intercalation assembly has sheet-by-sheet assembly structure, and the interlayer space of the composite is 1.50 nm, which is almost the thickness summation of one LDH sheet and one MMT sheet. The specific surface area of the composite is 105.89 m2/g. © 2015, Chinese Ceramic Society. All right reserved.