Mechanochemical synthesis of Cu-Al and methyl orange intercalated Cu-Al layered double hydroxides

- A facile mechanochemical route to synthesize Cu-Al and MO intercalated Cu-Al LDH.
- The products possesses high crystalline of LDH phase with no impure phases.
- The dry milling process induces the element substitution between the raw materials.
- The agitation operation helps the grain growth of LDH.

In this study, a mechanochemical route to synthesize a Cu-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) and a methyl orange (MO) intercalated one (MO-LDH) was introduced, in which basic cupric carbonate (Cu2(OH)2CO3) and aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) with Cu/Al molar ratio at 2/1 was first dry ground for 2 h and then agitated in water or methyl orange solution for another 4 h to obtain the LDH and MO-LDH products without any heating operation. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermogravimetry (TG), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The products showed high crystallinity phase of Cu-Al and MO intercalated Cu-Al LDH with no evident impurities, proving that the craft introduced here was facile and effective. The new idea can be applied in other fields to produce organic-inorganic composites.