Barnard, Brenda AntoinetteLabuschagne, F.J.W.J. (Frederick Johannes Willem Jacobus)2021-04-012021-04-012020-10Barnard, B.A.; Labuschagné, F.J.W.J. Exploring the Wet Mechanochemical Synthesis of Mg-Al, Ca-Al, Zn-Al and Cu-Al Layered Double Hydroxides from Oxides, Hydroxides and Basic Carbonates. Crystals 2020, 10, 954. https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst101009542073-4352 (online)10.3390/cryst10100954http://hdl.handle.net/2263/79147The synthesis of Mg-Al, Ca-Al, Zn-Al and Cu-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs) was investigated with a one-step wet mechanochemical route. The research aims to expand on the mechanochemical synthesis of LDH using a mill designed for wet grinding application. A 10% slurry of solids was added to a Netzsch LME 1 horizontal bead mill and milled for 1 h at 2000 rpm. Milling conditions were selected according to machine limitations and as an initial exploratory starting point. Precursor materials selected consisted of a mixture of oxides, hydroxides and basic carbonates. Samples obtained were divided such that half was filtered and dried at 60 ◦C for 12 h. The remaining half of the samples were further subjected to ageing at 80 ◦C for 24 h as a possible second step to the synthesis procedure. Synthesis conditions, such as selected precursor materials and the MII:MIII ratio, were adapted from existing mechanochemical methods. LDH synthesis prior to ageing was successful with precursor materials observably present within each sample. No Cu-Al LDH was clearly identifiable. Ageing of samples resulted in an increase in the conversion of raw materials to LDH product. The research offers a promising ‘green’ method for LDH synthesis without the production of environmentally harmful salt effluent. The synthesis technique warrants further exploration with potential for future commercial up-scaling.en© 2020 by the authors. Licensee: MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Layered double hydroxide (LDH)MechanochemistryBead millGreen chemistrySynthesisWet grindingArticle