Hexamethylenetetramine directed synthesis and properties of a new family of alpha-nickel hydroxide organic-inorganic hybrid materials with high chemical stability

A new family of organic-inorganic hybrid material of alpha-nickel hydroxide formulated as Ni(OH)2-x(An-)x/n-(C6H12N4)y.zH2O (A=Cl-, CH3COO-, SO4(2-), NO3-; x=0.05-0.18, y=0.09-0.11, z=0.36-0.43) with high stability and adjustable interlayer spacing ranging from 7.21 to 15.12 A has been successfully prepared by a simple hydrothermal method. The effects of various anions and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) on the d values of alpha-nickel hydroxide have been systematically investigated. This family of hybrid materials is of such high stability that they can stand more than 40 days in 6 M KOH. The product with a formula Ni(OH)1.95(C6H12N4)0.11(Cl-)0.05(H2O)0.36 has a high surface area of about 299.26 m2/g and an average pore diameter of about 45.1 A. The coercivity (Hc) value is ca. 2000 Oe for the sample with a d spacing of 13.14 A. Moreover, the prepared alpha-Ni(OH)2 in our experiment is of high stability in strong alkali solution. Such high stability could be derived from strong chelating interactions between the Ni ions and HMT molecules with the interlayers. This high chemical stability could make this material more suitable for the applications.