School of Chemistry Colloquium: Professor Dermot O'Hare (Oxford University)- RSC Prize Lecture Latest Developments with Layered Double Hydroxides

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a highly tunable class of inorganic materials with the general formula [M(1–x)M'x(OH)2]a+ [A¬–a/n] where M and M' are most commonly divalent and trivalent metal cations, An– is an anion and 0 < x < 1. The metal hydroxides form a positively charged brucite-like layers, with the intercalated anions providing charge balance. However, agglomeration of the LDH platelets leads to low surface area dense "stone-like" agglomerates which limits their use in many applications.
We have developed both solvent dispersion and core@shell approaches to avoid the agglomeration of the LDH platelets. For example, our Aqueous Miscible Organic Solvent Treatment (AMOST) process can create highly dispersed LDH-based materials consisting of nanosheet dispersions. This process produces exposed active sites with high surface areas and porosity. It is now possible to tailor these materials to a wide range of novel applications such as solid CO2 sorbents and heterogeneous catalysis.

This event is open to final year undergraduate project students, MSc students, PhD students, post-doctoral research associates and academic staff.