Unusually stable ~100-fold reversible and instantaneous swelling of inorganic layered materials

Fengxia Geng, Renzhi Ma, Akira Nakamura, Kosho Akatsuka, Yasuo Ebina, Yusuke Yamauchi, Nobuyoshi Miyamoto, Yoshitaka Tateyama and Takayoshi Sasaki ()
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Fengxia Geng: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Renzhi Ma: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Akira Nakamura: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Kosho Akatsuka: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Yasuo Ebina: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Yusuke Yamauchi: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Nobuyoshi Miyamoto: Environment and Materials Science, Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Wajiro-Higashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 811-0295, Japan
Yoshitaka Tateyama: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Takayoshi Sasaki: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Cells can swell or shrink in certain solutions; however, no equivalent activity has been observed in inorganic materials. Although lamellar materials exhibit increased volume with increase in the lamellar period, the interlamellar expansion is usually limited to a few nanometres, with a simultaneous partial or complete exfoliation into individual atomic layers. Here we demonstrate a large monolithic crystalline swelling of layered materials. The gallery spacing can be instantly increased ~100-fold in one direction to ~90 nm, with the neighbouring layers separated primarily by H2O. The layers remain strongly held without peeling or translational shifts, maintaining a nearly perfect three-dimensional lattice structure of >3,000 layers. First-principle calculations yield a long-range directional structuring of the H2O molecules that may help to stabilize the highly swollen structure. The crystals can also instantaneously shrink back to their original sizes. These findings provide a benchmark for understanding the exfoliating layered materials.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2641

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