Effect of surfactants on the properties of hydrotalcites prepared by the reverse micelle method

Abstract

Layered double hydroxides with the hydrotalcite-type structure have been prepared by the reverse micelles method. The layer cations were Ni2+ and Fe3+ in all cases and the interlayer anion was carbonate. We have studied the effect of the surfactant used (with linear chains of different lengths, or cyclic) and the effect of the pH on the properties of the solids formed. These have been characterized by element chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed reduction, FT-IR and Vis–UV spectroscopies and scanning electron microscopy. It has been found that the samples prepared at pH 9 are more crystalline than those prepared at pH 11 and their crystallite sizes are always larger than for samples prepared by the conventional precipitation method. Surfactants with cyclic organic chains lead to a larger crystallite size, probably because the water pool vesicle where the crystallite grows is larger due to sterical hindrance of the organic chains.