Synthesis of Mg2Al-Cl layered double hydroxide nanosheets in a surfactant-free reverse microemulsion

摘要

The synthesis of Mg2Al-Cl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets in a surfactant-free reverse microemulsion is described. The microemulsion was composed of toluene, isopropanol, and an aqueous solution as the dispersed phase. An aqueous LDH nanosheet dispersion was obtained by a double-microemulsion technique. LDH nanosheets were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric and elemental analyses. The LDH nanosheets consisted of a single brucite layer without any loading of organic molecules. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a naked LDH monolayer aqueous dispersion being directly obtained. The LDH monolayers can be used as building blocks for LDH-based functional materials.