Laboratory of new inorganic compounds

Obtaining compounds with desired properties is an important task of inorganic synthesis. In this respect, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) - synthetic analogs of the mineral hydrotalkite [Mg6Al2(OH)16](CO3)-4H2O - have great potential. Their structure is an alternation of positively charged brucite-like octahedral metal-hydroxide layers with voids filled with anions and water molecules. The anions compensate for the excess positive charge of the metal-hydroxide layers. One of the main distinguishing features of LDHs is compositional flexibility, which allows to obtain substances of different cationic and anionic composition, on the basis of which it is possible to create qualitatively new materials. Due to the presence of interlayer spaces, LDHs can incorporate various molecules, forming supramolecular intercalation compounds. When LDHs are calcined, a mixture of oxides is formed, which has a higher dispersibility than mixtures obtained by mechanical means. When the oxide mixture is placed in an aqueous salt solution, the original layered structure is restored. This feature is called the “memory effect” and is unique to calcined forms of LDHs.

Sorbents are substances that are capable of sorbing other substances from the environment, such as gases, liquids or dissolved compounds. Sorbents have applications in ecology, industry, medicine and research. The use of non-traditional raw materials (e.g. plant waste) for their production also allows solving the problem of waste recycling.

Oxidative degradation of eco-pollutants is used to degrade persistent pollutants that conventional cleaning methods cannot always completely remove. This process uses reactive oxygen species with high oxidizing power to break chemical bonds in complex organic molecules. As a result, pollutants are converted into simpler, safer and more easily recyclable compounds (e.g. carbon dioxide and water), reducing their toxicity and preventing the accumulation of harmful substances in the environment.

Photocatalytic destruction of pollutants is used for decomposition under the action of light. The essence of the process is the activation of a photocatalyst (the synthesis of which we are engaged in) under the influence of ultraviolet or visible light, which destroys pollutants and transforms them into harmless decomposition products.

Recycling polymer waste is a great challenge in the context of the growing use of plastics. Given the non-renewability of fossil fuels, the task of processing plastic waste into liquid fuels seems to be a promising one. Thermocatalytic conversion is one of the methods that allows obtaining liquid products of the required hydrocarbon range. Clays and clay minerals can be distinguished among possible environmentally friendly, cheap, and common catalysts. The moderate acidity and the presence of both Lewis and Brønsted acid sites on the surface of clays favor heavier hydrocarbons in liquid products of reactions occurring in their pores.