Cinnamate-Intercalated Layered Yttrium Hydroxide: UV Light-Responsive Switchable Material

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in stimuli-responsive host–guest materials due to the high potential for their application in switchable devices. Light is the most convenient stimulus for operating these materials; a light-responsive guest affects the host structure and the functional characteristics of the entire material. UV-transparent layered rare earth hydroxides intercalated with UV-switchable anions are promising candidates as stimuli-responsive host–guest materials. The interlayer distance in the layered rare earth hydroxides depends on the size of the intercalated anions, which could be changed in situ, e.g., via anion isomerisation. Nevertheless, for layered rare earth hydroxides, the possibility of such changes has not been reported yet. A good candidate anion that is capable of intercalating into the interlayer space is the cinnamate anion, which undergoes UV-assisted irreversible trans–cis isomerisation. In this work, both trans- and cis-cinnamate anions were intercalated in layered yttrium hydroxide (LYH). Upon UV-irradiation, the interlayer distance of trans-cinnamate-intercalated layered yttrium hydroxide suspended in isopropanol changed from 21.9 to 20.6 Å. For the first time, the results obtained demonstrate the possibility of using layered rare earth hydroxides as stimuli-responsive materials

<i>closo</i>-Dodecaborate Intercalated Yttrium Hydroxide as a First Example of Boron Cluster Anion-Containing Layered Inorganic Substances

The first member, Y₂(OH)_5.46(B₁₂H₁₂)_0.23Cl_0.08·4.98H₂O, of a new family of boron-containing substances, <i>closo</i>-dodecaborate intercalated layered rare-earth hydroxides, was synthesized using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The structure and composition of this compound were studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The title compound had the composition Y₂(OH)_5.46(B₁₂H₁₂)_0.23Cl_0.08·4.98H₂O and crystallized in a form of plate-like, aggregated particles less than 10 nm thick. The coordination of <i>closo</i>-dodecaborate anions with yttrium hydroxide host layers was demonstrated