Incorporation of rare-earth ions in Mg-Al layered double hydroxides: intercalation with an [Eu(EDTA)]- chelate

Reaction of an aqueous slurry of an Mg2Al-NO3 layered double hydroxide with a four-fold excess of Na[Eu(EDTA)] gives a material which analyses for Mg0.68Al0.32(OH)2[Eu(EDTA)]0.10(CO3)0.11.0.66H2O. The interlayer spacing of the material is 13.8A, corresponding to a gallery height of 9.0A, which accords with the maximal dimensions (9-10A) of the anion in metal-EDTA complex salts as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Geometrical considerations show that the charge density on the layered double hydroxide layers is too high to be balanced by intercalation of [Eu(EDTA)]- alone, necessitating the co-intercalation of carbonate ions which have a much higher charge density