Direct thermal intercalation of amine into layered MoO3

Molybdenum oxide nanocomposites with layered structures were prepared directly from commercial bulk MoO3 using alkylamines as the guests. By using molybdenum oxide-amines as the starting materials, novel molybdenum oxide–dye composite was synthesized. On the basis of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and infrared results, a possible arrangement of alkylamines guests in the interlayer space of molybdenum oxide has been proposed. Moreover, the interactions between the inorganic host and the organic guests have been discussed. A linear relationship is observed between the interlayer distance and the number of carbon atoms in n-alkyl chains.