Zp. Xu et Hc. Zeng, Abrupt structural transformation in hydrotalcite-like compounds Mg1-xAlx(OH)(2)(NO3)(x)center dot nH(2)O as a continuous function of nitrate anions, J PHYS CH B, 105(9), 2001, pp. 1743-1749
We report here a systematic XRD/FTIR/CHN/ICP investigation for structural t
ransformation of hydrotalcite-like compounds Mg1-xAlx(OH)(2)(NO3)(x). nH(2)
O as a continuous function of nitrate anions (x = 0.18-0.34). With seven fi
nely divided steps in x value, a clear relationship between basal spacing a
nd nitrate anion content (and thus trivalent cation content) has been found
. In particular, we have been able to "arrest" an intermediate hydrotalcite
-like phase that situates at the midpoint of an abrupt structural. transfor
mation. Unlike that of normal hydrotalcites, the relationship revealed in o
ur nitrated Mg1-xAlx(OH)(2)(NO3)(x). nH(2)O samples is much more complicate
d. While the lattice parameter a decreases with increase of nitrate content
, the parameter c decreases slightly over x = 0.18-0.22, rises abruptly wit
h a further increase of nitrate anions at x = 0.26, and then reaches maximu
ms at x = 0.31-0.34. The compound at x = 0.26 also shows a sharp decrease i
n mean crystallite dimension. The abrupt structural change is attributed to
a drastic change in nitrate anion arrangement. On the basis of our FTIR ob
servations and Coulombic energy estimation, a "stick-lying" model for nitra
te arrangement has been proposed, which is apparently superior to a "tilt-l
ying" model reported previously. The saturated charge density of the brucit
e-like layers for the "stick-lying" nitrate anions is about 4 e/nm(2). The
sharp decrease in crystallite dimension can be ascribed to the change of ni
trate configuration from "flat-lying" to "stick-lying" due to increasing la
teral repulsion among the anions and thus discontinuation in the planar gro
wth.