Synthesis of Li–Al layered double hydroxides via a mechanochemical route

•A solvent-free mechanochemical route to synthesize Li–Al LDH•The products possessed high crystalline of Li–Al LDH phase with no impure phases.•The dominant anion was OH− with tiny amount of CO32 −.

In this study, we introduced a solvent-free mechanochemical route to synthesize Li–Al layered double hydroxide through a two-step grinding of LiOH and Al(OH)3, in which the mixture powder with Li/Al molar ratio at 1/2 was first dry ground for 2 h and then wet ground for another 1 h with water addition without any heating operation. The as-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 possessed highly crystalline of Li–Al LDH phase with no evident impure phases, presenting an easy and effective preparation of Li–Al LDH by using solvent-free mechanochemical approach.

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