Intercalation Reactions of Layered Vanadyl Organophosphonates with Alkylamines

Layered vanadyl organophosphonates VORPO 3 · x H 2 O were brought into contact with primary alkylamines C n H 2 n +1 NH 2 ( n = 3−6). Intercalation compounds have been characterized by their basal spacings, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), XANES, and IR spectra. Regardless of the starting vanadyl phosphonate, a plot of the interlayer distances of the intercalates vs the number of carbon atoms ( n c ) in the alkyl chain of the amine indicates that amine molecules were packed in the interlamellar space either as bilayer or as an interdigitated monolayer, depending on n c . Hydrolysis of the phosphonate groups, oxidation of vanadium atoms, and the nature of the final products are described.