Microwave-assisted melt reaction method for the intercalation of carboxylic acid anions into layered double hydroxides.

Carboxylic acid anions intercalated layered double hydroxides are currently gaining increasing interest due to their potential applications in pharmaceutical field for controlled drug release in novel tunable drug delivery systems. In this work different aliphatic carboxylic acid anions were intercalated into the interlayers of commercial as well as synthetically prepared layered double hydroxides, through a novel microwave mediated melt reaction approach. The volumetric nature of microwave dielectric heating was exploited in order to rapidly heat the intimate mixture of the lamellar inorganic precursor and the appropriate organic acid, at the melting temperature of the particular mono- or dicarboxylic acid used, reaching the intercalation in approximately two hours treatment.