The increase of the absorption efficiency of boron (B) by plants is essential for increasing crop productivity. The intercalation of B in MgAl layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is an alternative to evaluating how these materials can provide B to plants. In this work, a MgAl LDH intercalated with borate ions (Mg2Al-B-LDH) was synthesized by the constant pH coprecipitation method, and the material produced was evaluated as a matrix for storage and as a source of B for plants. The Mg2Al-B-LDH was characterized by XRD, ATR-FTIR, TGA-DTA, specific surface area, pore size and volume, and SEM. A bioassay was performed to verify the supply of B to plants from the two sources in the forms of H3BO3 and of Mg2Al-B-LDH to sunflower plants grown in pots. The LDH basal spacing value of 12.0 Å is characteristic of intercalation of tetraborate octahydrate ions [B4O5(OH)42−]·8H2O between the layers. There was an increase in the dry matter (DM) and B content of the plants relative to those treatments where no B was added. The lack of statistical difference for plant yield between the two sources of B suggests a lack of stability of the Mg2Al-B-LDH structure under the acidic condition of the soil.

Alginate microspheres containing layered double hydroxides intercalated with borate: reduction on boron leaching and increasing boron uptake by plants.

Layered double hydroxides intercalated with borate: reduction of boron leaching in sandy soil and increase in plant boron uptake.

With demand increasing for phosphate recovery, a considerable share of current research is dedicated to elaborate multifunctional materials. In this way, the objective of this work was to produce hybrid films from the combination of cellulose acetate (CA) biopolymer and magnesium and aluminium layered double hydroxides (LDHs) and investigate their performance for phosphate recovery. In this work, the following materials were prepared and characterized: LDH, calcinated LDH (LDH-c), CA film (CAF), CA film with LDH (CAF-LDH) and CA film with LDH-c (CAF-LDH-c). The produced materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis coupled with differential scanning calorimetry and mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electronic microscopy. The thickness, H 2 O absorption (A H 2 O ), stability in H 2 O and phosphate adsorption of the produced films were evaluated. The adsorption capacity of films was compared to LDHs in powder form. The CAF-LDH and CAF-LDH-c increased film thickness, where CAF-LDH-c was thicker than CAF-LDH. CAF-LDH-c had higher A H 2 O than the other films, because of its increased thickness and mainly because of the H 2 O sorption process of these materials. H 2 O stability of 98.97% for CAF-LDH and 96.81% for CAF-LDH-c suggest the produced films can maintain their structural properties even after a long contact period with aqueous solutions. For the CAF-LDH-c, the maximum adsorption capacity of phosphate, according to the Langmuir-Freundlich model, was 6.98 mg/g. The adsorption value suggests that this film can be used as an efficient phosphorus (P) adsorbent from wastewater or a eutrophicated source.