X-ray Diffraction Diffraction Peaks Research Articles

Synthesis of Bismuth Telluride Thin Film for Thermoelectric Application Via Electrodeposition Technique

SummaryNanocrystalline Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) thin film was electrodeposited potentiostatically at room temperature from acidic bath. In order to study their structural, morphological properties and compositional analysis of as synthesized thin film were systematically examined by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The crystallographic characterization of Bi2Te3 thin film was carried out using XRD and main diffraction peak at (015) plane of the Bi2Te3 confirmed that the formation of rhombohedral crystal structure. Rapid development in thermoelectric material due to directly converting thermal energy to electric energy. The thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3 thin film was assessed with the result of electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient parameters. In addition, such well adherent Bi2Te3 thin film with improved Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity which is helpful for development of efficient materials for thermoelectric application. In order to study the thermoelectric performance of Bi2Te3 it is prepared by potentiostatic electrodeposition.

Fluorescence and Spectroscopic Characterization of Multiferroic Quantum Dots of La:BiFeO3

Multiferroic quantum dots of Bi1−xLaxFeO3; 0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.35 (La:BiFeO3) prepared by double sintering ceramic technique were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fluorescence, micro-Raman, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. La:BiFeO 3 were crystallized in a single-phase rhombohedral–hexagonal structure with space group R3c. The quantum dot size appeared as a broadening in the XRD diffraction peaks and assured from TEM micrograph. The fluorescence studies show the possible existence of an energy level above valence band maxima. The molecular signature of the samples was confirmed by FT-IR studies. Raman spectroscopy was used as a complementary spectroscopic technique hand-in-hand with FT-IR. Raman analysis reveals that lanthanum ions substitute bismuth in the rhombohedraly distorted hexagonal lattice. The results of Raman spectroscopy show good agreement with XRD and FT-IR results. This article offers such quantum dots (QDs) for photocatalytic degradation and opens a new platform in the field of photocatalysis.

Hydrothermal Synthesis of Zinc Carbonate Hydroxide Nanoparticles

Zinc carbonate hydroxide Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 nanoparticles have been successfully synthesised by the hydrothermal treatment of an aqueous solution of zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O) and urea (NH2CONH2) at 120°C. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). XRD and SEM revealed Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 nanoparticles produced in 20-40nm size range with spherical morphology. TGA showed the expected one-step decomposition of zinc carbonate hydroxide to zinc oxide (ZnO) between temperatures of 180°C and 350°C. The hydrothermal reaction time (2, 3 and 4hours) studied did not show any significant effect on the particle size and morphology. However, the crystallinity of the synthesised nanoparticles seems to be enhanced at longer hydrothermal reaction time by showing larger XRD diffraction peaks.

Investigations on critical parameters, growth, structural and spectral studies of beta-alaninium picrate (BAP) single crystals

Beta-alaninium picrate (BAP) salt has been synthesized and the solubility of the synthesized sample in double distilled water was determined at different temperatures. Solution stability was studied by observing the metastable zone width by employing the polythermal method. Induction period values for different supersaturation ratios at room temperature were determined based on the isothermal method. The nucleation parameters such as critical radius, critical free energy change, interfacial tension, and nucleation rate have been estimated for BAP salt on the basis of the classical nucleation theory. The lattice parameters of the grown BAP crystal were determined using the x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The reflection planes of the sample were confirmed by the powder XRD study and diffraction peaks were indexed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Fourier transform–Raman studies were used to confirm the presence of various functional groups in the BAP crystal. The nonlinear optical property of the grown crystal was studied using the Kurtz–Perry powder technique. UV–visible spectral studies were carried out to understand optical transparency and the type of band gap of the grown BAP crystal.

Correlation between grain orientation and carrier concentration of poly-crystalline In2O3 thin film grown by MOCVD

In this study, various In2O3 thin films were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition via changing the growth parameters. The structural and electrical properties of the films were investigated by employing the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM), and Hall Effect measurement. Results revealed that the investigated In2O3 thin films are bcc phase poly-crystalline with preferred orientation along the [100] or [111] direction. Moreover, the existence of two types of grains with different conductivities in the investigated In2O3 thin films was confirmed by CAFM measurement. Interestingly, a positive correlation was found between carrier concentrations and (222)/(400) XRD diffraction peak intensity ratios of the investigated In2O3 thin films. The mechanism of the positive correlation was explained by the difference in impurities concentrations between the two types of grains with the difference crystalline orientations.

Tunable atomic termination in nano-necklace BiFeO3

We investigate the growth kinetics of BiFeO3 (BFO) nano-necklace based on first principles modeling and electrospinning experiments. A two-step layered growth mechanism is proposed to control the atomic termination of each nano-necklace. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results agree well with our model predictions; (1) samples calcined at 500 and 550 °C consist of FeO2 (F-F) terminated nano-necklace, (2) samples calcined at 650 °C consist of either BiO (B-B) or BiO and FeO2 (B-F) terminated ones. The XRD diffraction peaks are located at lower 2θ values with a magnetic moment of 3.0 emu/g for the former and at higher 2θ values with a decrease in the magnetic moment to 0.4 emu/g for the later samples. The activation energy associated with the growth of the nano-necklaces was experimentally determined to be 0.37 eV/atom. This study provides fundamental understanding for the long-sought layer-by-layer assembly of BFO nanostructures.

Influence of surface oxidation on the morphological and crystallographic structure of multi-walled carbon nanotubes via different oxidants

In this paper, three kinds of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with different diameters (outer diameters: 10 to 20, 30 to 50, and >50 nm) and special surface areas (200, 60, and 40 m2/g, respectively) were oxidized in commonly used liquid oxidizers: (1) concentrated nitric acid, (2) a mixture of nitric + sulfuric acids (V:V, 1:3), (3) hydrogen peroxide, (4) a mixture of hydrogen peroxide + sulfuric acid (V:V, 1:1), and (5) acidic potassium permanganate. Morphology of the pristine and oxidized MWCNTs was characterized by scanning electron microscopy which provides sufficient resolution for direct visualization of their outer diameter distribution. Full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigation of the MWCNT samples before and after the oxidation process was measured. After treatment with oxidants, a clear decrease in nanotube diameters along the tube walls was observed. Decrease in the degree of crystallites started with the FWHM widening of the XRD diffraction peaks. The particle (crystallite) size (d002) calculated by Bragg's law and Scherrer equation increased depending on the kind of oxidants; the procedure can be performed using a mixture of HNO3 + H2SO4 on the surface of the MWCNTs with an outer diameter of 10 to 20nm. However, similar are the diffraction patterns of pristine and oxidized MWCNTs. Therefore, the MWCNTs that underwent oxidation process were able to preserve the first features of their structures, even though some narrowing of outer diameters and decreases in crystallites appeared. Nevertheless, the structure of MWCNTs still remains intact to be used as oxidized nanotubes in most applications.

Structure and electrochemical properties of nanometer Cu substituted α-nickel hydroxide

Nanometer Cu-substituted α-nickel hydroxide was synthesized by means of ultrasonic-assisted precipitation. Particle size distribution (PSD) measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) were used to characterize the physical properties of the synthesized samples. The results indicate that the average particle size of the samples is about 96–110nm and the XRD diffraction peaks are anisotropic broadening. The crystal grains are mainly polycrystal structure with columnar or needle-like morphology, containing many defects. With increase of Cu content, the shape of primary particles transform from columnar to needle-like. The influences of doping amounts of Cu on the electrochemical performance were investigated through constant current charge/discharge and cyclic voltammetric measurements. The specific capacity increases initially and then decreases with increasing Cu-doping ratio, the electrode C containing 0.9wt.% Cu shows the maximum discharge capacity of 310mAh/g at 0.2C, and it has the lowest charging voltage, higher discharge voltage plateau, better cycle performance and larger proton diffusion coefficient than the other electrodes.

Fabrication of Photocatalyst Glass Beads Coated with TiO2 Thin Film by a Layer-by-Layer Process

TiO2 thin films consisting of positively charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)(PDDA) and negatively charged titanium(IV) bis(ammonium lactato) dihydroxide(TALH) were successfully fabricated on glass beads by a layer-by-layer(LBL) self-assembly method. The glass beads used here showed a positive charge in an acid range and negative charge in an alkaline range. The glass beads coated with the coating sequence of(PDDA/TALH)n showed a change in the surface morphology as a function of the number of bilayers. When the number of bilayers(n) of the(PDDA/TALH) thin film was 20, Ti element was observed on the surface of the coated glass beads. The thin films coated onto the glass beads had a main peak of the (101) crystal face and were highly crystallized with XRD diffraction peaks of anatase-type TiO2 according to an XRD analysis. In addition, the TiO2 thin films showed photocatalytic properties such that they could decompose a methyl orange solution under illumination with UV light. As the number of bilayers of the(PDDA/TALH) thin film increased, the photocatalytic property of the TiO2-coated glass beads increased with the increase in the thin film thickness. The surface morphologies and optical properties of glass beads coated with TiO2 thin films with different coating numbers were measured by field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and by UV-Vis spectrophotometry(UV-vis).

The influence of treatment duration on multi-walled carbon nanotubes functionalized by H 2SO 4/HNO 3 oxidation

Variation in the nature of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) subjected to different degrees of oxidation was investigated. The microstructure was determined by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods, and the surface chemistry was evaluated in terms of the functional groups determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal analysis–mass spectroscopy (TA–MS). In addition, TGA was used to indicate the thermal stability of the nanotubes. Results demonstrate that the graphitic structure of nanotubes oxidized with a mild mixture of H 2SO 4/HNO 3 was preserved. Decrease in the degree of crystallinity started with widening of the C(0 0 2) XRD diffraction peak, followed by this peak shifting towards lower angles. The oxygen content increased with increasing treatment time. A defect peak incorporated in deconvolution of XPS C1s spectra was helpful for detecting the generation of defect sites. The predominant surface functionalities of the nanotubes have been changed from basic to acidic groups after treatment for one day. The samples oxidized for two days had the most abundant surface –COOH and the highest oxidation resistance. The oxidation mechanism of MWCNTs in mild H 2SO 4/HNO 3 mixture was proposed, which was a successive and iterative process, including the initial attack on active sites, and next the hexagon electrophilic attack generating new defects and introducing more oxygen, and then the tubes becoming thinner and shorter.

SnO 2–Au hybrid nanoparticles as effective catalysts for oxygen electroreduction in alkaline media

SnO 2 nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile electrochemical method based on anodic oxidation of a tin metal sheet. The resulting particles, with an average diameter of about 20 nm, were then loaded with varied amounts of HAuCl 4, forming SnO 2–Au( x) ( x = 0, 0.095, 0.38, 0.76, 1.9, 3.0, and 3.8 at.%) hybrid nanoparticles after calcination at elevated temperatures (700 °C). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) measurements showed that the SnO 2 particles exhibited high crystallinity with a rutile structure, and spherical Au nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of the SnO 2 support. Based on the TEM images and the width of the Au(2 0 0) XRD diffraction peak, the size of the Au nanoparticles was found to be between 15 and 35 nm in diameter and decrease with increasing loading of the original HAuCl 4 precursor. The electrocatalytic activity of the resulting SnO 2–Au( x) composite nanoparticles toward oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) was then evaluated by cyclic and rotating disk voltammetric measurements in alkaline solutions. It was found that the incorporation of gold nanoparticles led to apparent improvement of the catalytic activity of SnO 2 nanoparticles. Moreover, the ORR electrocatalytic activity exhibited a strong dependence on the gold loading in the hybrid nanoparticles, and the most active catalyst was found with a gold loading of 1.9 at.%, based on the reduction current density and onset potential of ORR. Furthermore, at this gold loading, oxygen reduction was found to follow the efficient four-electron reaction pathway, whereas at other Au loadings, the number of electron transfer involved in oxygen reduction varied between 1 and 3. Additionally, Tafel analysis suggested that at low overpotentials, the first electron transfer might be the limiting step in oxygen reduction, whereas at high potentials, oxygen adsorption appeared to play the determining role at the SnO 2–Au hybrid electrodes. These results indicate that the SnO 2–Au composite nanoparticles might serve as effective catalysts for oxygen electroreduction in alkaline media.

Structure and optical properties of ZnO:V thin films with different doping concentrations

A series of ZnO thin films doped with various vanadium concentrations were prepared on glass substrates by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering. The results of the X-ray diffraction (XRD) show that the films with doping concentration less than 10 at.% have a wurtzite structure and grow mainly along the c-axis orientation. The residual stress, estimated by fitting the XRD diffraction peaks, increases with the doping concentration and the grain size also has been calculated from the XRD results, decreases with increasing the doping concentration. The surface morphology of the ZnO:V thin films was examined by SEM. The optical constants (refractive index and extinction coefficient) and the film thickness have been obtained by fitting the transmittance. The optical band gap changed from 3.12 eV to 3.60 eV as doping concentration increased from 1.8 at.% to 13 at.% mol. All the results have been discussed in relation with doping concentration.

Effect of SnO<sub>2</sub> Addition on Electrical Degradation of ZnO Varistors

The effects of SnO2 addition on the electrical degradation characteristics of Bi2O3-MnO2-Co3O4 -added ZnO varistors were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and voltage-current (V-I) characteristics. The ZnO grain size was made uniform by the addition of SnO2 or Sb2O3. The nonlinearity index α of the V-I characteristic for Bi-Mn-Co-SnO2-added samples was approximately 50 and the varistor voltage was 120~140V/mm. The value of α after the electrical degradation showed a local maximum at approximately 0.1mol% added SnO2 and then showed a local minimum at approximately 0.5mol%, similar to the relative integral intensity of the XRD diffraction peak for the (004) plane for a small amount of SnO2 added. It is suggested that the diffusion of oxygen ions through the grain boundary is affected by the change in crystal orientation of ZnO grains at the grain boundary induced by the addition of a small amount of SnO2.

Improved optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films by rapid thermal annealing

The influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films grown on Si substrate has been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), and Raman scattering (RS) measurements. The relaxation of the residual stress by increasing the annealing temperature during the RTA process was observed by the measured shift of (002) XRD diffraction peak towards 34.40 ∘ and the shift of RS E 2 (high) mode closer to 437 cm −1. The process also resulted in a reduction of the measured full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the PL emission line and that of the asymmetrical broadening of RS E 2 (high) mode. The observed changes have demonstrated that RTA is a viable technique for improving the crystalline quality of ZnO/Si films.

Thermal properties and combustion characterization of nylon 6/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites via organic modification and melt intercalation

The nylon 6/MgAl layered double hydroxide (MgAl-LDH) nanocomposites have been prepared by melt intercalation of nylon 6 into the part organic dodecyl sulfate (DS) anion-modified MgAl(H-DS) interlayers. The structures and properties of MgAl(H-DS) and corresponding nanocomposites were characterized by ion chromotography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), and cone calorimeter test (CCT). The nanoscale dispersion of MgAl(H-DS) layers in the nylon 6 matrix has been verified by the disappearance of d 001 XRD diffraction peak of MgAl(H-DS) and the observation of TEM image. DSC tests evince that these exfoliated MgAl(H-DS) layers play the role of nucleating agents with strong heterogeneous nucleation effect on the crystallization of nylon 6 and increase its crystallization temperature over 12 °C with only 5 wt% MgAl(H-DS). TGA tests show that the effect of alkaline catalysis degradation from LDH on nylon 6 decreases the thermal stability of nylon 6/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites. The data from the cone calorimeter tests show that the HRR and MLR values of the sample with 5 wt% MgAl(H-DS) decrease considerably to 664 kW/m 2 and 0.161 g/m 2 s from 1064 kW/m 2 and 0.252 g/m 2 s of pure nylon 6, respectively. This kind of exfoliated nanocomposite is promising for the application of flame-retardant polymeric materials.

Structural characterization and thermal and mechanical properties of poly(propylene carbonate)/MgAl-LDH exfoliation nanocomposite via solution intercalation

Poly(propylene carbonate)/MgAl layered double hydroxide (PPC/MgAl-LDH) exfoliated nanocomposites were synthesized by solution intercalation of PPC into the galleries of organic modified MgAl-LDH (OMgAl-LDH) in cyclohexanone. The crystal morphological structures, thermal degradation behavior, and mechanical properties have been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The nanoscale dispersion of OMgAl-LDH layers in the PPC matrix has been verified by the disappearance of d 0 0 1 XRD diffraction peak of OMgAl-LDH and the observation of TEM image. The TGA data give evince that the thermal degradation temperature of the exfoliated PPC/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites with 1% OMgAl-LDH is 10 °C higher than that of pure PPC resin when 20% weight loss was selected as a point of comparison. The data from the mechanical test show that the tensile strength of the PPC/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites with 5% LDH is 36.9 MPa, which is 72% and 30% higher than those of pure PPC resin and simple mixed sample with the same content of LDH, and its Young’s modulus is 1303 MPa, which is 57% and 21% higher than those of the same two samples, respectively.

Investigation of structure and properties of nanocrystalline silicon on various buffer layers

A comparative study of deposition nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) on various buffer layers is investigated. The nc-Si films were deposited in a hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system. Through Hall measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), Raman, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, it was found that the columnar grain (CG) size, mobility, and volume fraction of crystalline-deposited nc-Si films increase with an increase of the buffer layers’ surface roughness. The nc-Si film deposited on the nc-Si buffer layer possesses the highest Xc (volume fraction of crystalline) of 84.32%, Hall mobility of 45.9 (cm2/V s), and CG size of 200–220 nm, and it shows the strongest intensity of the XRD diffraction peak in (111).

Nanocrystalline anatase TiO 2 thin films: preparation and crystallite size-dependent properties

Nanocrystalline anatase TiO 2 films with crystallites of either of three different sizes (nominally 6, 12, and 20 nm) were deposited on various substrates (glass, sapphire, and silicon) using colloidal suspensions. These suspensions were painted onto the respective substrates, dried in air and then calcined at 720 K in air for 1 h; the resulting films have a whitish appearance and are several μm thick. These films were thoroughly characterized with respect to their surface morphology, crystal structure, phase homogeneity, elemental composition, and the presence of impurities. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cross-section transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data demonstrated that two of the films are solely composed of the anatase phase whereas in the third also the brookite phase of TiO 2 might be present. The average crystallite size was derived from the width of the XRD diffraction peaks and was found to agree within ∼5% with the nominal size. The elemental composition and the amount of impurities in the different films was investigated by secondary-ion mass spectrometry. Whereas the Ti/O concentration is constant throughout all films, the presence of contaminants is substrate-dependent: while in films deposited on silicon or sapphire the atomic fraction of impurities (most prominently Na and K) is in the range of ∼10 −4, for glass substrates an about 100 times higher level of those species is observed, probably the result of outdiffusion during the calcination step or during the reduction of the samples. A detailed study of the influence of the sample temperature T and the ambient oxygen pressure p(O 2) on the DC electrical conductivity σ of the films was performed. For all films, a power-law dependence of σ on p(O 2), σ∝ p(O 2) − n , was observed. The values of the exponent n were found to exhibit a distinct dependence both on the crystallite size and on the specimen temperature; furthermore, an influence due to the presence of doping species was noted. For nanocrystalline films on sapphire substrates and for T=470 K, n amounts to 1.31, 1.15 and 0.56 for the 6-, 12-, and 20-nm films, respectively. For reduced films, an exponential dependence of σ on T −1 was determined, yielding activation energies E A with values of 0.34, 0.38, and 0.51 eV for films with those crystallite sizes. Impedance spectroscopy was utilized to determine the frequency-dependent complex resistance of the various films. In all cases, a pure RC behavior was found: whereas the magnitude of R strongly depends on the crystallite size, the sample temperature and the ambient oxygen pressure, C exhibits little variations and falls in the range ∼18 to ∼25 pF. Using thermal desorption mass spectrometry, distinct desorption peaks for O 2 species were observed which shift to higher temperature values with increasing heating rate. An activation energy for that desorption process of ∼0.9 eV was obtained thereof for a 6-nm nanocrystalline film.

LLDPE/ZnAl LDH-exfoliated nanocomposites: effects of nanolayers on thermal and mechanical properties

The exfoliated nanocomposites (LLDPE/ZnAl LDH) were synthesized by refluxing dodecyl sulfate-intercalated ZnAl-layered double hydroxide [Zn3Al(DS)] in a non-polar xylene solution of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Their thermal and mechanical properties were studied via X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile tests. The molecular dispersion of Zn3Al(DS) nanolayers within the LLDPE matrix has been verified by the disappearance of the d003 XRD diffraction peak of Zn3Al(DS) and observation of the TEM image. TGA profiles of the LLDPE/ZnAl LDH nanocomposites show a faster charring process in the temperature range from 200 to 400 °C and better thermal stability above 370 °C than that of pure LLDPE. When 30% weight loss was selected as a point of comparison, the thermal decomposition temperature of LLDPE/ZnAl LDH nanocomposites with 5 wt% content of Zn3Al(DS) is 56 °C higher than that of pure LLDPE. The apparent activation energy values of LLDPE, and the LLDPE/ZnAl LDH nanocomposites with 5 and 10 wt% content of Zn3Al(DS) are determined as 94, 215, and 150 kJ mol−1, respectively, by the Flynn–Wall method in the kinetic analysis of the thermo-oxidation degradation process. The Young's modulus of the LLDPE/ZnAl LDH nanocomposite with 20 wt% Zn3Al(DS) has a 59% increase over that of pure LLDPE although its strength and elongation at break show some decrease due to the decrease of the crystallinity of the LLDPE matrix and/or some aggregations of exfoliated nanolayers of Zn3Al(DS) in the LLDPE matrix.

Structural Characteristics and Thermal Properties of PE-g-MA/MgAl-LDH Exfoliation Nanocomposites Synthesized by Solution Intercalation

Exfoliated nanocomposites (PE-g-MA/MgAl-LDH) were synthesized by solution intercalation of polyethylene-grafted-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA) into the galleries of organo-modified MgAl layered double hydroxide (OMgAl-LDH) under reflux in xylene. Their structural elucidation and thermal characterization were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The molecular dispersion of OMgAl-LDH layers within the PE-g-MA matrix has been verified by the disappearance of d001 XRD diffraction peak of OMgAl-LDH and the observation of TEM image. The OMgAl-LDH layers of about 70-nm length or width show a disordered phase in PE-g-MA matrix. The SAED pattern demonstrates that the MgAl hydroxide sheets of about 0.48-nm thickness have a hexagonal crystal structure with a = 0.305 nm. TGA profiles of the PE-g-MA/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites show a faster charring process in temperature range from 210 to 360 °C and greater thermal stability above 370 °C than PE-g-MA. The decomposition temperature of the nanocomposites with 5 wt % OMgAl-LDH can be 60 °C higher than that of PE-g-MA when 50% weight loss was selected as a measuring point. Dynamic FTIR spectra reveal that this nanocomposite has a slower thermo-oxidative rate than PE-g-MA from 200 °C to 320 °C. This kind of exfoliation nanocomposite is promising for use in flame-retardant polymeric materials.