Investigating the Impact of the Washing Steps of Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) on the Electrochemical Performance

The washing of layered double hydroxides (LDH) material is mostly purposed to discard the unreacted products after the reaction has been completed. However, this study demonstrated that the washing stage can also be targeted to optimise the electrochemical performance of LDH by using an appropriate solvent. Solvents, namely, ethanol, acetone, and an ethanol-acetone solution (2:1) were used for the washing of LDH and the impacts thereof on the structural, physical, chemical, morphological, and electrochemical properties were investigated. Using Williamson-Hall analysis, we observed modifications on the crystalline domain. The specific surface area and pore parameters for all the samples were also differently affected. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements displayed evident changes in the basic sites. The electrochemical performances of samples were analysed. The sample washed with the ethanol-acetone solution exhibited a specific capacitance of 1807.26 Fg^-1 at 10 mVs^-1, which is higher than that of other samples as well as low internal resistance compared to its counterpart. This demonstrates that the use of an appropriate solvent during the washing stage of LDH affects the electrochemical properties.