Preparation of Zinc Layered Hydroxide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D) Nanocomposite

Abstract

Recently, layered materials have gained great attention because they can be designed at the nanometer levels. Due to its advantages such as low cost material, easy to synthesize and excellent anion exchange properties, these material exhibit unlimited potential in catalysis, separation technology, medical science, nanocomposite material engineering, agriculture and etc. In this study, Zinc Layered Hydroxide (ZLH) has been intercalated with 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) anion by using ion exchange method. These nanocomposites were synthesized at a different mass of ZLH which are 1 g, 2 g and 3 g also with different concentration of guest anions (2,4-D) which are 0.01 M, 0.02 M, 0.04 M, 0.08 M, 0.16 M and 0.32 M. Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD) patterns showed an expansion of interlayer spacing with the value ranging from 26.8 Å to 39.6 Å, 29.4 Å to 37.3 Å, 28.7 Å to 31.6 Å for 1 g, 2 g and 3 g of ZLH at various concentration of 2,4-D respectively. This expansion of basal spacing implies that 2,4-D anion which is bigger size than the prior ZLH was successfully intercalated into the ZLHs. FTIR analysis further confirmed that 2,4-D were successfully intercalated between the interlayers of ZLH with evidence of functional groups of ZLH and 2,4-D in the ZLH-2,4-D nanocomposite (ZN) spectra.