Aqueous Miscible Organic Solvent Treatment Research Articles

Engineering 2D Mg-Al-layered double oxides with highly dispersed and enhanced basic sites for efficient ambient NO2 reactive removal

The release of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) into the atmosphere significantly contributes to air pollution, posing threats to both the environment and human health. Selective adsorption technologies have gained attention for their potential to mitigate NO2 emissions under ambient conditions. However, certain solid adsorbents lack accessible active basic sites, a crucial requirement for high NO2 adsorption capacities due to the acidic nature of NO2. Metal-based layered double oxides (LDOs), derived from layered double hydroxides (LDHs), show promise for ambient NO2 adsorption due to their layered structures, strong basic properties, and adjustable adsorption affinity. In this study, we synthesized a series of M-Al-LDO/A (M = Ni, Co, and Mg) using a facile aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) method. The newly synthesized M-Al-LDO/A exhibited a 2D nano flower-like morphology with expanded surface area, increased pore volume, and enhanced accessible basic sites. Dynamic breakthrough experiments demonstrated the exceptional NO2 adsorption capacity of Mg-Al-LDO/A (4.67 mmol g−1) under ambient conditions, surpassing Mg-Al-LDO/CP (0.13 mmol g−1) synthesized from the conventional method by more than 35 times. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) results and spectroscopic analyses revealed that the improved NO2 capacity of Mg-Al-LDO/A resulted from the highly dispersed and increased basic sites (Mg-O2-). These findings hold promise for advancing efficient and environmentally friendly NO2 adsorption materials, critical for addressing the challenges posed by NO2-induced air pollution and safeguarding air quality.

Assembling flower-like MgAl-LDH nanospheres and g-C3N4 nanosheets for high efficiency removal of methyl orange

Flower-like Mg–Al–CO3 layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) nanospheres with specific surface area of 221.95 m2/g were synthesized by modified aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method. Via the electrostatic self-assembly method, MgAl-LDH and g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNNS), with the mass ratio of 1:10, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10, and 10:10, respectively, were assembled to prepare MgAl-LDH/g-C3N4 composites (MCN-X, X = 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10). The mass ratio of MgAl-LDH to g-C3N4 nanosheets affected the microstructure, optical and photo-electrochemical properties, and the removal efficiency toward methyl orange (MO), of MCN-X composites. The adsorption and photocatalytic degradation performance for MO by all MCN-X composites were better than those by pure g-C3N4 nanosheets. With the increasing of MgAl-LDH content, the adsorption rate and removal rate of MO by MCN-X composites increased firstly and then decreased gradually. The optimum performance was achieved by MCN-5, which removed 93.58 % of MO molecules after 30 min of dark adsorption and 120 min of photocatalytic degradation, and its pseudo-first-order reaction rate constants (k) value (0.0177 min−1) was 3.4 times that of CNNS. Reasons for these results were the enhanced specific surface area, the narrowed band gap, the inhibited recombination and the improved separation and migration of photo-generated carriers, as well as the excellent adsorption ability of MCN-5. This work provides a feasible strategy for synthesizing high performance MgAl-LDH/g-C3N4 composite photocatalyst.

Dual function of ultra-laminated hydrotalcite in environmental remediation: Adsorption of water contaminant BP-4 and reutilization of the adsorption product for photocatalytic NOx air decontamination

UV filters are a class of emerging water pollutants used in cosmetics to protect the skin from ultraviolet radiation. This work appraises the uptake of benzophenone-4 (BP-4), widely used and highly soluble sunscreen agent, by its adsorption on hydrotalcite based compounds. The studied adsorbents were hydrotalcite Mg3Al-CO3 (HT), ultra-laminated hydrotalcite (UHT) prepared by “Aqueous Miscible Organic Solvent Treatment” and their calcined products (HT500 and UHT500, respectively). Adsorbents were characterised by different techniques such as XRD, TEM, FT-IR, BET, XRF and TGA. The most remarkable feature was the enhancement in the specific surface area (SSA) of the ultra-laminated hydrotalcite samples, UHT and UHT500 with values of 212 m2·g─1 and 247 m2·g─1, respectively. Adsorption capacities decreased from very high for UHT500 to low values for HT in order UHT500 > HT500 > UHT > HT. The results showed that not only the SSA values were relevant for adsorbing BP-4, but also other factors such as anionic exchange capacity (AEC) and surface charge. In addition, the adsorption product (UHT-BP4) was evaluated as a photocatalyst for air purification, exhibiting good efficiency for the removal of atmospheric pollutants such as NOx gases.

Carbon Nanotubes Deposited on Mordenite Zeolite/NiAl-Layered Double Hydroxide Composites as Electrocatalysts for 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid Production from 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

The nanostructured free-standing NiAl-MOR-CNTs electrocatalysts containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) deposited on mordenite (MOR) zeolite/NiAl-layered double hydroxide (NiAl-LDH) have been successfully fabricated. Initially, the core-shell NiAl-LDH-MOR with hierarchical structures was observed via an aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment process to deposit nanosized NiAl-LDH homogeneously on a zeolite surface. The synthesized NiAl-LDH-MOR composites were calcined to produce highly dispersed metal oxides catalyzing the CNTs formation via chemical vapor deposition using bioethanol as a feedstock, eventually producing the NiAl-MOR-CNTs composites. To illustrate the beneficial aspect of the prepared composite, they were mixed with Nafion as a binder and pressed into circular pellets used as free-standing electrodes for electrochemical oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), an important renewable monomer of bioplastic. The prepared free-standing electrodes exhibited an excellent catalytic performance of 100% conversion of HMF with a high selectivity of FDCA up to 92% under ambient conditions. Moreover, the synthesized electrocatalysts can be recycled even after several consecutive cycles without any loss of catalytic activity, confirming a high stability of the synthesized electrodes. This work illustrates the design of electrocatalysts by using conductive CNTs grown on highly dispersed metal active sites on zeolite/LDH composites without using commercial conductive supports such as nickel foam or carbon fiber paper.

Ultrathin NiZrAl layered double hydroxide nanosheets derived catalyst for enhanced CO2 methanation

It is challenging to fabricate supported Ni catalysts with more active sites to improve their low-temperature catalytic performance in CO2 methanation. Herein, firstly, ultrathin (∼4 nm) NiZrAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were synthesized by co-precipitation method, followed by aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST), and applied as catalyst precursors for CO2 methanation. After H2 reduction, the surface area of Ni particles in NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R was significantly higher than that of NiZrAl-LDH-R without AMOST. As a result, the NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R showed higher catalytic activity than NiZrAl-LDH-R owing to its higher H2 and CO2 chemisorption capacity and lower activation energy. During the 100 h-lifetime test, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained a steady CO2 conversion of about 92.3%. Moreover, NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R maintained its catalytic activity after a 600 °C-hydrothermal treatment, suggesting its high stability. In situ DRIFTS results reveal that CO2 methanation on both NiZrAl-LDH-R and NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R followed the HCOO∗ route. Interestingly, more active sites obtained after AMOST strongly promoted the generation and decomposition of HCOO∗, and thus significantly improved the activity of NiZrAl-LDH-AMO-R at low temperatures.

CO hydrogenation to ethanol and higher alcohols over ultrathin CuCoAl nanosheets derived from LDH precursor

Ultrathin CuCoAl nanosheets derived from layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursor (1–3 cationic-layers) were successfully synthesized by aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) strategy and performed for ethanol and higher alcohols production via CO hydrogenation. The ultrathin CuCoAl nanosheets (CuCo-LDH-aw) demonstrated a comparatively higher total alcohols (ROH) selectivity of 47.6 %, and the molar fraction of ethanol reached up to 37.5 % among the total alcohols. As revealed by XRD, TEM, SEM, BET and AFM characterizations, the uniform dispersion of CuCo NPs was observed over the ultrathin CuCoAl nanosheets. Moreover, the optimum ultrathin CuCoAl nanosheets exhibited a higher ratio of Cu+/(Cu0 + Cu+), which exerted a positive role on non-dissociative CO* insertion CHx intermediates. More significantly, XPS and in situ CO-DRIFT techniques uncovered the formation of CHx intermediates derived from bridge CO dissociation on the metallic Co species and the formate hydrodeoxygenation route, which involved CO* and surface hydroxyl groups (–OH) reaction. Consequently, it was concluded that the triply synergistic effect of Cu+, Co and surface hydroxyl groups (–OH) species contributed to the improvement in ethanol selectivity via CO hydrogenation.

Highly dispersed Cu catalyst based on the layer confinement effect of Cu/Zn/Ga-LDH for methanol synthesis

The small amount of promoter has shown increase in the methanol formation rate by several folds. Hence, hydrotalcite having sufficient trivalent cations are preferred; however, traditional coprecipitation route often leads to poor Cu dispersion owing to higher cationic charge in the layered structure that result in aggregation of the sheets. The present paper reports synthesis of porous, nanostructured Cu/ZnO/Ga2O3 catalysts from pure phase hydrotalcite precursors by using aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method. The 20% Ga containing catalyst showed ca. 2.5-fold increase in both surface area and % dispersion of the exposed Cu as compared to that prepared from standard coprecipitation method with similar composition. The stabilization induced by mutual dispersion of Cu, Zn and Ga components in the exfoliated sheets resulted in confinement of the Cu particle size up to 5 nm in the spent catalyst. The best performing catalyst of the series, Cu0.4Zn0.4Ga0.2-LDO exhibited STY of 762 mg•gCat−1•h−1 for methanol formation from syngas which was decreased by only 8.6% during 50 h of the reaction on stream. Further, it was revealed that, Ga is more conductive to stabilization of Cu as compared to Al, resulting in 23% higher methanol formation rate as compared to the Al containing catalyst.

Modified layered double hydroxide/zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil composites to improve the flame retardant of leather

High flammability has always been a limiting factor for leather products. Herein, a new strategy that chose zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil(ZBMSO) and aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment(AMOST) modified layered double hydroxide(O-LDH) were used to prepare flame retardant leather in this work. Firstly, O-LDH was prepared through acetone organic modified layered double hydroxide led to a better dispersion, then the modified zanthoxylum bungeanum seed oil(MZBMSO)/O-LDH composites was obtained by used O-LDH and MZBMSO through in-situ method. Finally, MZBMSO/O-LDH composites were applied to the leather fatliquoring processing, and tested the flame retardant of leather. The thermal stability of leather was effectively improved with composites, and the combustible gas released during thermal decomposition of leather decreases obviously. Limit oxygen index (LOI) value of leather reached 28.3%, the smoke density value dropped 68% to 9.28%/min. The dispersion of LDH was improved by a simple aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method and prepared the leather with excellent flame retardant, it reduced the release of toxic gases and improved the safety of leather products.

Design and fabrication of exfoliated Mg/Al layered double hydroxides on biochar support

Abstract Tailored design and fabrication of biochar-based adsorbents with high porosity and well dispersion is a critical process for enhancing their environmental applications. To elucidate the material structure-performance relationship, this study synthesized and compared corn straw biochar-supported Mg/Al layered double hydroxides composites (LDHs-BCs) using conventional co-precipitation or aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) methods under various pyrolysis temperatures (350, 550, 750, and 950 °C) and metal loadings (5 and 15 wt%). The comprehensive surface characterization demonstrated enlarged interlayer spacing, increased specific surface area, and smaller crystal size of LDHs as well as lowered intensities of O-containing functional groups in LDHs-BCs. These results suggested that, in comparison to conventional co-precipitation method, AMOST method can serve as a simple, cost-effective, and robust method to induce exfoliation, higher dispersion, and more stable attachment of LDHs on the biochar surface. The Langmuir adsorption isotherms further demonstrated that the AMOST-derived composites prepared at higher temperatures (i.e., 750 and 950 °C) and lower metal loading (i.e., 5 wt%) exhibited superior contaminant removal capacities (280.7–286.2 mg PO43−/g and 92.5–94.7 mg Cu(II)/g at pH 5.0–6.0). The synergistic effect was attributed to coupled functionalization of LDHs and biochar under customized synthesis conditions. These results provide valuable insights into fabricating high-performance and environmentally friendly LDHs-BCs for green remediation and sustainable development.

Tribological properties of novel palygorskite nanoplatelets used as oil-based lubricant additives

Layered palygorskite (PAL), commonly called attapulgite, is a natural inorganic clay mineral composed of magnesium silicate. In this study, an aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method is adopted to prepare molybdenum-dotted palygorskite (Amo-PMo) nanoplatelets, which greatly improved the specific surface area of PAL and the dispersion effect in an oil-based lubricant system. Their layered structure and size were confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy. Following a tribological test lubricated with three additives (PAL, organic molybdenum (SN-Mo), and Amo-PMo), it was found that the sample of 0.5 wt% Amo-PMo exhibited the best tribological properties with a coefficient of friction of 0.09. Moreover, the resulting wear scar diameter and wear volume of the sliding ball surface were 63% and 49.6% of those lubricated with base oil, respectively. Its excellent lubricating performance and self-repairing ability were mainly attributed to the generated MoS2 adsorbed on the contact surfaces during the tribochemical reaction, thereby effectively preventing the direct collision between asperities on sliding solid surfaces. Thus, as-prepared Amo-PMo nanoplatelets show great potential as oil-based lubricant additives, and this study enriches the existing application of PAL in industry.

Aqueous miscible organic-layered double hydroxides with improved CO2 adsorption capacity

Potassium-promoted layered double hydroxide (LDH)-derived materials are suitable elevated temperature CO2 adsorbents for pre-combustion CO2 capture. A challenge for the commercialization of LDHs as efficient CO2 adsorbents is their low capacities (ca. 0.5–0.6 mmol/g@400 °C) due to their hydrogen-bonded stacked structure. In this study, the aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) was used to exfoliate Mg3Al–CO3 LDH into nanosheets with a flower-like morphology, resulting in high surface areas of 287 and 212 m2/g for CC1 (washed with ethanol) and CC2 (washed with acetone), respectively. The exfoliated LDH structure exposed more interlayered CO2 active sites and promoters for alkali metal modification. Six impregnation solvents, water, acetone, ethanediol, ethanol, DMAC, and methanol were screened to optimize the CO2 uptake of 20 wt% K2CO3-promoted CC1. K2CO3/CC1(ed) using ethanediol as the impregnation solvent reached a CO2 working capacity of 1.46 mmol/g at 400 °C in the first cycle and 1.23 mmol/g after 10 cycles, twice the capacity of the commercial K2CO3/MG70. Material characterization indicated that the unexpectedly high performance of K2CO3/CC1(ed) could be attributed to the uniform K+ dispersion on the surface of K2CO3/CC1(ed) rather than bulk phase formation and the release of the residual solvent during calcination that could generate more paths for CO2 diffusion.

Novel M (Mg/Ni/Cu)-Al-CO3 layered double hydroxides synthesized by aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) method for CO2 capture.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been intensively studied in recent years owing to their great potential in CO2 capture. However, the severe aggregation between platelets and low surface area restricted it from exhibiting very high CO2 adsorption capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity. In this research, we for the first time synthesized Ni-Al-CO3 and Cu-Al-CO3 LDHs using aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) method. The as-synthesized materials were evaluated for CO2 adsorption at three different temperatures (50, 80, 120 °C) applicable to post-combustion CO2 capture. Characterized with XRD, N2 adsorption-desorption, TEM, EDX, and TGA, we found the newly synthesized Ni-Al-CO3 LDH showed a nano-flower-like morphology comprising randomly oriented 2D nanoplatelets with both high surface area (249.45 m2/g) and pore volume (0.59 cc/g). Experimental results demonstrated that un-calcined Ni-Al-CO3 LDH is superior in terms of CO2 capture among the three LDHs, with a maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 0.87 mmol/g and the ideal CO2/N2 selectivity of 166 at 50 °C under 1200 mbar for typical flue gas CO2/N2 composition (CO2:N2 = 15:85, v/v). This is the first report of a delaminated Ni-Al-CO3 LDH showing better CO2 capture performance than the well-reported optimal Mg layered double hydroxide.

Synthesis of elevated temperature CO2 adsorbents from aqueous miscible organic-layered double hydroxides

Layered double oxides (LDOs), which derives from the calcination of layered double hydroxides (LDHs), are a type of elevated temperature CO2 adsorbents for pre-combustion carbon capture. Due to its highly aggregated stone-like structure, the CO2 capture capacity of commercial MgAl-CO3 LDO is relatively low. A novel method, the aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST), was proposed to synthesize LDH precursors with increased surface area. In this work, three types of LDHs and LDOs with different Mg/Al ratios were synthesized using the conventional and AMOST methods. The aqueous miscible organic (AMO) solvent-treated Mg2Al-CO3 presented the highest CO2 working capacity of 0.506 mmol/g at 400 °C of all the LDOs, which was 63.4% higher than that of commercial MG63. By removing the interlayered water using AMO solvent washing, the LDH was exfoliated into nanosheets and formed flower-like structures. The exposed internal surfaces increased the density of effective active sites after calcination. The AMO solvent-treated LDH also provided more alkali ion promoters for surface modification and led to better dispersion. After impregnation with 20 wt.% K2CO3, the CO2 working capacity of the AMO solvent-treated K-Mg3Al-CO3 could reach a stable value of 1.069 mmol/g at 400 °C, which was 22.9% higher than that of commercial K-MG70.

Ammonium Polyphosphate Intercalated Layered Double Hydroxide and Zinc Borate as Highly Efficient Flame Retardant Nanofillers for Polypropylene.

We found in our previous study that layered double hydroxides (LDHs) which undergo aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) can tune the hydrophobicity surface of LDHs to be hydrophobic, and then the solvent mixing method can be used to prepare polymer/LDH nanocomposites. However, flame retardant property is not very high if LDHs are only used. In this present work, ammonium polyphosphate (APP) intercalated LDHs and zinc borate (ZB) was incorporated into a polypropylene (PP) matrix using the solvent mixing method. The structures, morphologies, and performance of the composites were characterized carefully. The peak heat release rate (PHRR) reduction of PP containing 10 and 20 wt % APP-LDH reached 27% and 55%, respectively, which increased up to 63% compared with PP/CO3-LDH. After incorporating 2 wt % ZB in the PP/APP-LDH system, the flame retardant property was further improved. Polypropylene composites with 20 wt % APP-LDH and 2 wt % ZB showed a 58% PHRR reduction. In addition, thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) results indicated that the addition of APP-LDH and ZB improved the temperature at 50% weight loss (T50%) and the char formation of the materials significantly.

CO2 Hydrogenation to Methanol over Catalysts Derived from Single Cationic Layer CuZnGa LDH Precursors

Ultrathin (1–3 cationic-layers) (CuZn)1–xGax-CO3 layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were synthesized following the aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment (AMOST) method and applied as catalyst precursors for methanol production from CO2 hydrogenation. It is found that, upon reduction, the aqueous miscible organic solvent treated LDH (AMO-LDH) samples above a critical Ga3+ composition give consistently and significantly higher Cu surface areas and dispersions than the catalysts prepared from conventional hydroxyl-carbonate phases. Owing to the distinctive local steric and electrostatic stabilization of the ultrathin LDH structure, the newly formed active Cu(Zn) metal atoms can be stably embedded in the cationic layers, exerting an enhancement to the catalytic reaction. The best catalyst in this study displayed methanol productivity with a space-time yield of 0.6 gMeOH·gcat–1 h–1 under typical reaction conditions, which, as far as we are aware, is higher than most reported Cu-based catalysts in t...

Synthesis and properties of polypropylene/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites with different LDHs particle sizes

ABSTRACTIn order to investigate whether the particle sizes of inorganic additives in polymer have an influence on the flame‐retardant and other properties of the polymer, five types of Mg3Al–CO3 layered double hydroxide (LDHs) with particle diameters of 80–100, 200–350, 500–550, 550–600, and 700–900 nm were synthesized using a hydrothermal method. The obtained Mg3Al–CO3 LDHs were treated using the aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method to give highly dispersed platelets in Polypropylene (PP). The thermal stability, flame retardancy, and mechanical properties of the PP/AMO–LDH nanocomposites were investigated systematically. The results showed that the thermal stability and flame retardancy of PP could be improved after incorporating AMO–LDHs. The temperature at 50% weight loss (T0.5) of PP/LDH (700–900 nm) nanocomposites with a LDH loading of 15 wt % was increased by 57 °C. When the LDHs loading was 40 wt %, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) of the PP/LDH nanocomposites with small LDHs particle sizes (<350 nm) was decreased by ca. 58%. The limiting oxygen index was increased by 5% for PP/LDH (80–100 nm) nanocomposites. The response surface regression results also indicated that both LDH particle size and loading have influence on PHRR, heat release capacity, tensile strength, and elongation at break. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46204.

Controlling the Surface Hydroxyl Concentration by Thermal Treatment of Layered Double Hydroxides.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are important materials in the field of catalyst supports, and their surface hydroxyl functionality makes them interesting candidates for supporting well-defined single-site catalysts. Here, we report that the surface hydroxyl concentration can be controlled by thermal treatment of these materials under vacuum, leading to hydroxyl numbers (αOH) similar to those of dehydroxylated silica, alumina, and magnesium hydroxide. Thermal treatment of [Mg0.74Al0.26(OH)2](SO4)0.1(CO3)0.03·0.62(H2O)·0.04(acetone) prepared by the aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment method (Mg2.84Al-SO4-A AMO-LDH) is shown to yield a mixed metal oxide above 300 °C by a combination of thermogravimetric analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), BET surface area analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy. PXRD shows the disappearance of the characteristic LDH 00l peaks at 300 °C indicative of decomposition to the layered structure, coupled with a large increase in the BET surface area (95 vs 158 m2 g-1 from treatment at 275 and 300 °C, respectively). Titration of the surface hydroxyls with Mg(CH2Ph)2(THF)2 indicates that the hydroxyl number is independent of surface area for a given treatment temperature. Treatment at 450 °C under vacuum produces a mixed metal oxide material with a surface hydroxyl concentration (αOH) of 2.14 OH nm-2 similar to the hydroxyl number (αOH) of 1.80 OH nm-2 for a sample of SiO2 dehydroxylated at 500 °C. These materials appear to be suitable candidates for use as single-site organometallic catalyst supports.

Understanding surface interactions in aqueous miscible organic solvent treated layered double hydroxides

Molecular modelling elucidates the mechanism of layered double hydroxide dispersion, increasing surface area, during aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment.

Graphite-like carbon nitride and functionalized layered double hydroxide filled polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride nanocomposites: Comparison in flame retardancy, and thermal, mechanical and UV-shielding properties

Graphite-like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and borate modified layered double hydroxides (LDH-B) were successfully fabricated by thermal pyrolysis and modified aqueous miscible organic solvent treatment methods, respectively. Then these nano-additives were introduced to prepare polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA)/g-C3N4 and PP-g-MA/LDH-B nanocomposites using a modified solvent mixing strategy. Several important parameters of the nanocomposites including thermal, mechanical and UV-blocking properties were investigated. Results indicated that pure g-C3N4 exhibited 347.6 and 427.2 °C increase in onset decomposition temperature under air and nitrogen conditions, respectively, compared with LDH-B. In case of PP-g-MA nanocomposites, both T-10 and T-50 (the temperature at 10% and 50% weight loss, respectively) were improved by 14.6 and 27.7 °C, respectively, by the addition of g-C3N4 while those only increased by 2.3 and 17.8 °C upon introducing LDH-B. Furthermore, PP-g-MA/g-C3N4 system showed a remarkable increment (9.8 °C) in crystallization temperature while an increase of 4.2 °C for PP-g-MA/LDH-B nanocomposite. Introducing g-C3N4 and LDH-B into PP-g-MA led to a reduction of 28% and 19% in pHRR, respectively. It was noted that the incorporation of g-C3N4 caused significant improvement in storage modulus from 2445.0 MPa for neat PP-g-MA to 2783.5 MPa for PP-g-MA/g-C3N4 while that of PP-g-MA/LDH-B was dramatically decreased by 27.3%. Optical results indicated that PP-g-MA/g-C3N4 was rendered fascinating UV adsorption ability relative to PP-g-MA/LDH-B. It is expected that the novel two-dimensional nanomaterial could bring new creativity into polymer composites.

Synthesis and characterisation of layered double hydroxide dispersions in organic solvents

Aqueous Miscible Organic Solvent Treatment (AMOST) Mg3AlCO3–LDHs have been prepared using twelve different (AMO) solvents.