Stearic acid sol–gel synthesis of ultrafine-layered K2Nd2Ti3O10 at low temperature and its acid-exchanging property

A rapid and simple method was developed to prepare ultrafine K2Nd2Ti3O10 powders by combustion of stearic acid precursors. The acid-exchanging properties of obtained product were also studied. Results showed that by using stearic acid sol–gel method (SAM) the fabricating temperature was lowered (from 1100 to 800 °C) and the reacting time was shortened (from at least 11 to 2 h). Comparing with the product by traditional solid-state reaction (SSR), the particle size of the K2Nd2Ti3O10 synthesized by SAM is smaller, BET surface area is higher (more than 16.97 m2/g), and has different acid-exchanging properties. It can be easily exfoliated in 2 mol L− 1 HNO3 solution and the exfoliated monodisperse sheets scrolled to 20 × 100 nm nanotubes automatically.