Preparation of an anionic azo pigment-pillared layered double hydroxide and the thermo- and photostability of the resulting intercalated material

A large anionic pigment has been intercalated into a layered double hydroxide (LDH) host by ion-exchange of an Mg/Al LDH-nitrate precursor with a solution of C.I. Pigment Red 48:2 (the calcium salt of 4-((5-chloro-4-methyl-2-sulfophenyl)azo)-3-hydroxy-2-naphthalene-carboxylic acid), in ethane-1,2-diol. After intercalation of the pigment, the interlayer distance in the LDH increases from 0.86 to 1.72 nm. Infrared spectra and TG-DTA curves reveal the presence of a complex system of supramolecular host-guest interactions. The UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectra of C.I. Pigment Red 48:2 show marked changes after heating at 200 °C and above, whereas there are no significant changes in the spectra of the intercalated pigment after heating at temperatures up to 300 °C, showing that the thermostability is markedly enhanced by intercalation in the LDH host. The pigment-intercalated LDHs exhibits much higher photostability to UV light than the pristine pigment, in the case of both the pure solids and their composites with polypropylene, as shown by measurement of CIE 1976 L^*a^*b^* color difference (ΔE) values.