Biopolymer immobilization during the crystalline growth of layered double hydroxide

Alginic acid, a biopolymer produced by brown seaweed, is incorporated between the sheets of a layered double hydroxide (LDH) via direct coprecipitation. The growth of the inorganic crystalline seeds over the polymer gives rise to a lamellar structure. The obtained nanocomposite presents a basal spacing in agreement with the ideal picture of the polymer lying perpendicularly to the inorganic sheets. A study using FTIR and ¹³C CP-MAS spectroscopies suggests that the interaction between the organic guest and the inorganic framework is weak. However, the polymer has a stabilizing effect in temperature, since ZnO is observed at 350°C, whereas it appears at 200°C for the chloride LDH pristine material.