The many ways of making anionic clays

Together with hydrotalcite-like layered double hydroxides, bivalent and trivalent metal hydroxides and their hydroxy salts are actually anionic clays consisting of positively charged hydroxide layers with anions intercalated in the interlayer region. The anionic clays exhibit anion sorption, anion diffusion and exchange properties together with surface basicity making them materials of importance for many modern applications. In this article, we discuss many different ways of making anionic clays and compare and contrast the rich diversity of this class of materials with the better-known cationic clays.