Stability of Calcium-Alumino Layered-Double-Hydroxide Nanocomposites in Aqueous Electrolytes
Abstract
Calcium-alumino layered-double-hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites of the alumino-ferrite monosubstituent subgroup hosting alkyl sulfates and poly(ethylene glycol) were synthesized by coprecipitation over the temperature range 5-75 °C. The stability of these nanocomposites was examined following exposure to aqueous solutions conditioned to a range of concentrations of intercalant anions including sulfate, carbonate, chloride, and phosphate. Careful analysis of these "organic-inorganic" nanocomposites reveals that their gallery (interlayer) spacing can vary, and the gallery height is controlled by the chain length (size) and orientation of the surfactant substituents, where, expectedly, anionic surfactants intercalate more robustly than nonionic surfactants. Upon anion exposure, in general, the nanocomposites (i) are unstable at SO42-(aq) ≥ 10 mM, wherein they convert to the AFt (ettringite) phase, (ii) form solid solutions containing carbonate for CO32-(aq) ≤ 1.5 mM and which coexist with calcite at higher carbonate concentrations, (iii) form solid solutions containing phosphate at PO43-(aq) ≤ 1.45 mM and convert to hydroxyapatite at higher phosphate abundance, and (iv) form solid solutions for Cl-(aq) ≤ 100 mM, but at higher concentrations, Cl- displaces the surfactants, forming Friedel's salt. These insights into the stability and phase relationships for calcium-alumino LDH nanocomposites improve our understanding of these materials for applications including contaminant sorption, as carriers for the functional release of chemical additives in construction materials, and in biotherapeutic applications.
Recommended Citation
M. U. Okoronkwo et al., "Stability of Calcium-Alumino Layered-Double-Hydroxide Nanocomposites in Aqueous Electrolytes," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, vol. 57, no. 40, pp. 13417 - 13426, American Chemical Society (ACS), Oct 2018.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.8b02618
Department(s)
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Anionic surfactants; Calcite; Carbonation; Chemical stability; Chlorine compounds; Electrolytes; Hydroxyapatite; Nanocomposites; Negative ions; Nonionic surfactants; Polyethylene glycols; Solutions; Sulfur compounds
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0888-5885
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2018 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Oct 2018
Comments
The authors acknowledge financial support for this research from Environmental Research and Education Foundation, National Science Foundation (CMMI: 1401533, CAREER: 1253269), and, the University of California, Los Angeles.