Stimuli-responsive hybrid materials: breathing in magnetic layered double hydroxides induced by a thermoresponsive molecule

A hybrid magnetic multilayer material of micrometric size, with highly crystalline hexagonal crystals consisting of CoAl–LDH ferromagnetic layers intercalated with thermoresponsive 4-(4-anilinophenylazo)benzenesulfonate (AO5) molecules diluted (ratio 9 : 1) with a flexible sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) surfactant has been obtained. The resulting material exhibits thermochromism attributable to the isomerization between the azo (prevalent at room temperature) and the hydrazone (favoured at higher temperatures) tautomers, leading to a thermomechanical response. In fact, these crystals exhibited thermally induced motion triggering remarkable changes in the crystal morphology and volume. In situ variable temperature XRD of these thin hybrids shows that the reversible change into the two tautomers is reflected in a shift of the position of the diffraction peaks at high temperatures towards lower interlayer spacing for the hydrazone form, as well as a broadening of the peaks reflecting lower crystallinity and ordering due to non-uniform spacing between the layers. These structural variations between room temperature (basal spacing (BS) = 25.91 Å) and 100 °C (BS = 25.05 Å) are also reflected in the magnetic properties of the layered double hydroxide (LDH) due to the variation of the magnetic coupling between the layers. Overall, our study constitutes one of the few examples showing fully reversible thermo-responsive breathing in a 2D hybrid material. In addition, the magnetic response of the hybrid can be modulated due to the thermotropism of the organic component that, by influencing the distance and in-plane correlation of the inorganic LDH, modulates the magnetism of the CoAl–LDH sheets in a certain range.