Precursors of TAA-magadiite nanocomposites

Tetraalkylammonium hydroxides (TAAOH, TAA+ = TMA+, TEA+, TPA+ and TBA+) have been intercalated into the galleries of protonated magadiite (H2Si14O30·nH2O). The effects of the amount of TAAOH and reaction temperature on the structure of the intercalated compound were investigated in detail. X-ray diffraction, CHN analyses, FT-IR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, TG analyses, SEM, and HRTEM were used to characterize the samples. Structural models were constructed. The intercalated magadiites could be obtained depending on the carbon chain lengths and the amounts of tetraalkylammonium hydroxides. The mechanism is discussed. These TAA+-magadiites could provide intermediates for forming two-dimensional host–guest nanocomposites and functional nanomaterials, such as enzymes and proteins immobilization.