Rapid Exfoliation And Surface Tailoring Of Perovskite Nanosheets Via Microwave-Assisted Reactions

A facile method for the exfoliation of layered oxide perovskites as well as surface modification of generated oxide nanosheets has been developed. Using rapid microwave-assisted reactions, nanosheets from Dion-Jacobson-type perovskites were obtained and then subsequently functionalized with a variety of organics containing hydroxyl or amine groups. Initially, oxide nanosheets with tetra(n-butyl)ammonium (TBA(+)) surface groups are produced in as little as 1h from bulk HLnNb(2)O(7) (Ln = La, Pr) perovskites. The TBA(+) surface groups of these nanosheets can then be replaced with a variety of n-alkyl alkoxy and n-alkylammonium groups via fast microwave reactions (<= 1h). Beyond these simple n-alkyl surface groups, nanosheets can also be produced with both saturated and unsaturated cyclic and linear alcohols. This synthetic approach appears widely applicable such that any saturated/unsaturated organic with hydroxyl or amine functional groups can be attached to oxide nanosheets. The rapid production of organic-inorganic nanosheets coupled with controlled surface modification is of great significance for engineering functional composite materials with novel properties.