Auerbach S.M., Carrado K.A., Dutta P.K. (eds.) Handbook of Layered Materials

Marcel Dekker. 2004. 659 p.Although there are numerous families of lamellar solids, only a handful of them exhibit the kind of versatile intercalation chemistry that forms the basis of this book. In arriving at the content of this volume, the editors have accurately identified six classes of versatile layered compounds that are at the forefront of materials intercalation chemistry, namely, smectite clays, zirconium phosphates and phosphonates, layered double hydroxides (known informally as ‘‘hydrotalcites’’ or ‘‘anionic clays’’), layered manganese oxides, layered metal chalcogenides, and lamellar alkali silicates and silicic acids. Graphite and carbon nanotubes have not been included, in part because this specialty area of intercalation chemistry is limited to one or two molecular layers of comparatively small guest species that are capable of undergoing electron transfer reactions with the host structure.
Six of the eleven chapters are devoted primarily to the intercalation chemistry of smectite clays, the most versatile among all lamellar compounds. Two of these chapters are devoted to the experimental and theoretical aspects of the clay structures and surface chemistry, including chemical catalysis. Organo clays and polymer-clay nanocomposites, the adsorption of nitroaromatic compounds of environmental significance onto clay surfaces, photochemical processes, and pillared clays and porous clay heterostructures are the subjects of the remaining four chapters. These six chapters provide detailed discussions of the factors that influence access to the intragallery surfaces of the clay host and the materials properties of the resulting intercalates. The remaining five chapters provide succinct overviews of the intracrystal guest–host chemistry of the next most prominent families of lamellar structures.
Originally recognized for their importance in the production of precipitated meta oxide catalysts, the layered double hydroxides are finding increasing importance in many areas of materials chemistry. Expanded materials applications are also being realized for the layered zirconium phosphates, which initially attracted attention only on the basis of their cation exchange properties, as well as for the layered metal chalcogenides. Having remarkably regular porosity and redox properties, the layered manganese oxides represent the newest family of lamellar compositions of contemporary research interest. Finally, the alkali silicates and their proton-exchanged derivatives form a robust family of layered materials that can be readily synthesized from silica gel and surface modified for use in many areas.
Overall, this is a timely, well-written book that deserves to be in every chemistry and materials science library, as well as on the personal bookshelves of new and established researchers engaged in the study of layered materials. It provides an excellent up-to-date reference source on the state of the art of important lamellar structures and their contemporary materials applications.ForewordIntroduction : clay structure, surface acidity, and catalysis
Molecular modeling of clay mineral structure and surface chemistry
Clay-organic interactions : organoclay complexes and polymer-clay nanocomposites
Sorption of nitroaromatic compounds on clay surfaces
Photoprocesses in clay-organic complexes
Pillared clays and porous clay heterostructures
Layered [alpha]-zirconium phosphates and phosphonates
Layered double hydroxides (LDHs)
Layered manganese oxides : synthesis, properties, and applications
Layered metal chalcogenides
Alkali silicates and crystalline silicic acids