Layered double hydroxide-based catalysts: nanostructure design and catalytic performance.

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are a class of clays with brucite-like layers and intercalated anions which have attracted increasing interest in the field of catalysis. Benefiting from the atomic-scale uniform distribution of metal cations in the brucite-like layers and the ability to intercalate a diverse range of interlayer anions, LDHs display great potential as precursors/supports to prepare catalysts, in that the catalytic sites can be preferentially orientated, highly dispersed, and firmly stabilized to afford excellent catalytic performance and recyclability. The approaches to prepare catalysts based on LDH materials include, but are not limited to, exfoliation of the brucite-like layers, lattice orientation/lattice confinement by the brucite-like layers, and intercalation. This Feature Article summarizes the latest developments in the design and preparation of nanocatalysts by using LDHs as precursors/supports.