Large continuous, transparent and oriented self-supporting films of layered double hydroxides with tunable chemical composition.

Highly ordered transparent self-supporting films of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with a size of the order of cm2 have been obtained by a simple method; the chemical composition of both the layers and interlayers can be readily tuned, as demonstrated by the preparation of [ZnAl-NO3] LDH, [NiAl-NO3] LDH and [Tb(EDTA)]- intercalated-ZnAl LDH films.