Intercalation of α-titanium phosphate with long-chain amine aided by short-chain amine

Hydrothermal synthesis of layered zirconium phosphates and their intercalation properties

Layered inorganic materials are widely used as fillers in nanocomposites due to their unique properties such as mechanical performance, thermal properties, flame resistance, barrier properties, corrosion resistance, catalytic activity, and multifunctionality. Among them, layered α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP: Zr(HPO4)2H2O) is one of the representative inorganic materials and unique properties with P-O-H groups that can exchange inorganic and organic cations and intercalate basic molecules. This paper deals with the use of this compound as an adsorbent for heavy metal cations in wastewater. Samples were prepared by hydrothermal treatment at various Zr/P ratio, water amounts, and temperatures. Furthermore, an attempt was made to widen the interlayer distance of the sample using n-butylamine. The α- zirconium phosphate prepared at 160°C for 20 h with Zr/P = 1/2 adsorbed the most amount of metal ions. Furthermore, interlayer amine modification was effective. Then, the behaviour of the adsorption process was observed by varying the time of adsorption from 1 h to 50 h, in order to clarify the change in adsorption of the samples over time.

Nanolayered Metal Phosphates as Biocompatible Reservoirs for Antimicrobial Silver Nanoparticles

There is an increasing demand on synthesizing pharmaceuticals and biomaterials that possess antimicrobial and/or antiviral activities. In this respective silver nanoparticles are known for their excellent antimicrobial activity. Nevertheless, their uncontrolled release in a biological medium can induce a cytotoxic effect. For this, we explored the use of nanolayered metal phosphates based on titanium and zirconium as materials that can be enriched with silver nanoparticles. Employing the hydrothermal route, crystalline α-phases of zirconium and titanium phosphates (α-ZrP, α-TiP) were synthesized and there after surface-enriched with silver nanoparticles. The structural assessment confirmed the stability of the structures and their sizes are in the nanoscale at least in one dimension. The cytocompatibility assays confirmed the biocompatibility of the pristine phases and the antimicrobial assay confirmed that both silver-enriched nanolayered structures maintain an antibacterial effect at reasonably low concentrations.