Preparation and characterization of lactate-intercalated Co–Fe layered double hydroxides and exfoliated nanosheet film with low infrared emissivity

Lactate-intercalated Co–Fe layered double hydroxides (LDHs) were successfully prepared by coprecipitation and hydrothermal method. In this process, divalent metal ions as precursors can be obtained from the reduction reaction of lactic acid and metal powder (cobalt and ferrous). In order to obtain Fe 3+ , H 2 O 2 (30%) was used to oxidize Fe 2+ . Meanwhile, the produced lactate was intercalated into the LDHs interlayers to compensate the positively charged layers. The as-synthesized LDHs were studied by element chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravitry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), TEM. The results indicated that the basal spacing value of the LDHs was larger than that of lactate-intercalated Mg–Al or Zn–Al LDHs. It proved that the lactate anions were inserted into the gallery in the form of dimers which made it easy to be delaminated in water. The obtained nanosheets were deposited on the substrates to form the film which was characterized by TEM and AFM, and infrared emissivity value (8–14   μm) was also investigated. The infrared emissivity values of Co–Fe LDHs were lower than that of Zn–Al which took advantage of the special electronic structure in Co and Fe. Besides, the orderly structure and the reduction of the interfacial deficiency of the film made the values further reduced.