High-efficiency nanodelamination of NiCoLDHs with hydroquinone as intercalator in universal solvent and physical treatments

Abstract

Nanodelamination and controlled stripping of two-dimensional materials are important ways to realize the release of the performance of nano-functional materials. This work shows that hydroquinone (HQ) intercalated nickel-cobalt hydroxides (NiCoLDHs) have been nanodelaminated in different solvents (water, ethanol, ethanol/water, and toluene) and physical treatment (ultrasonic bath, magnetic stirring, and hydrothermal). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction techniques (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermal analyses (DSC-TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were used to characterize the structures of all the samples. The results show that nanodelamination of the treated NiCoLDHs-HQ samples with three kinds of physical treatment in different solvents reduces the intensity of the characteristic d001 reflections and moves to the smaller angle, indicating that the HQ is an effective nanodelamination intercalation agent. Microstructure and BET analysis also demonstrate that NiCoLDHs achieve high-efficiency nanodelamination driven by HQ in ethanol and ultrasonic bath than that of other in solvents and physical treatment. This significant delamination effect is mainly attributed to the interaction between hydroquinone and NiCoLDHs or solvent, and this delamination strategy provides a new method for efficient application of 2D material as electrode, catalyst, or polymer/clay nanocomposites.