Homogeneous Incorporation of Gallium into Layered Double Hydroxide Lattice for Potential Radiodiagnostics: Proof-of-Concept

Trivalent gallium ion was successfully incorporated into chemically well-defined MgAl-layered double hydroxide (LDH) frameworks through postsynthetic hydrothermal treatment. Quantitative analysis with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy exhibited that Ga(3+) was first incorporated into LDH through partial dissolution-precipitation at the edge of LDH particle and homogeneously distributed throughout the particle by substitution of Ga(3+) for Al(3+) in LDH frame works. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the Ga(3+) incorporation did not affect the crystal structure without evolution of unexpected impurities. The morphology and surface property of LDH evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and light scattering showed the preservation of physicochemical properties throughout 24 h of hydrothermal reaction. The distribution of incorporated Ga(3+) was visualized with energy dispersive spectroscopy-assisted transmission electron microscopy, suggesting the homogeneous location of Ga(3+) in an LDH particle. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure suggested that the Ga moiety was immobilized in LDH from 0.5 h and readily crystallized upon reaction time.