Direct organometallic synthesis of carboxylate intercalated layered zinc hydroxides for fully exfoliated functional nanosheets

Journal article

Intercalation of organic anions into 2D materials can enable exfoliation, improve dispersion stability, increase surface area, and provide useful functional groups. In layered metal hydroxides, intercalation of bulk structures is commonly achieved by cumbersome and typically incomplete anion exchange reactions. In contrast, here, a series of carboxylate‐intercalated layered zinc hydroxides (LZH‐R) are synthesized directly, at room temperature, by reacting an organozinc reagent with a precise sub‐stoichiometric quantity of the desired carboxylic acid and water. A range of carboxylic acids are used to make new LZH‐R materials which are crystalline, soluble, and functionalized, as established by X‐ray diffraction, spectroscopic, and microscopy techniques. When R is an alkyl ether carboxylate, this direct synthesis method results in the spontaneous exfoliation of the LZH‐R into monolayer nanosheets with high yields (70–80%) and high solubilities in alcohols and water of up to 180 mg mL−1. By altering the carboxylate ligand, functional groups suitable for post‐synthetic modification or for detection by fluorescence are also introduced. These examples demonstrate a versatile synthetic route for functional exfoliated nanosheets.

Authors: Said, SA; Roberts, CS; Lee, JK; Shaffer, MSP; Williams, CK

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Advanced Functional Materials
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 30
• Article number: 2102631
• Publication date: 2021-05-07
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202102631
• EISSN: 1616-3028
• ISSN: 1616-301X
• Language: English
• Keywords: organozinc; layered zinc hydroxides; 2D nanosheets; exfoliation; intercalation; FFR