The paper described a new discovery. It provided the synthetic route to separate for the first time the lamellar structure of LDH-type materials. This was quite tricky to achieve as LDH materials present high-charge density, and therefore a strong lamellar cohesion due to strong electrostatic interactions between platelets and anions. Surmised by Pr. Claude Forano (Chem. Com. 2000, p 91), the delamination was indeed possible starting from a long alkyl chain interleaved anion, such as a surfactant, and then to reflux the hybrid material in a solvent with a boiling point above 100°C.

Our paper, published in 2001, did not stop at this step, but contains a lot of characterizations during the delamination and restacking processes and also concludes on the ability to form interstratifed LDH materials from a mutual restacking of two delaminated inorganic systems, explaining also, to our belief, the good citation level of the paper.

Since then, different other attempts have succeeded (from various groups all over the world), however, I wanted to cite the very recent and promising work of Pr. Takayoshi Sasaki reporting sandwich-layered materials from exfoliated nanosheets of different natures (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129: 8000, 2007).

Our paper provides a tool to disassemble a stacked structure composed of layers which are tightly attached to each other. To make a long story short, we can see these LDH materials as a finite stacked pile of crêpes (dessert from Brittany) strongly glued together (for instance by marmalade). The trick is to access the crêpes without the marmalade and to be able to restack the pile but while using another type of marmalade.

More seriously, it is of great significance if one considers the increase in interface gained in such a way (i.e., reactivity) and the possibility to create new lamellar structures by restacking.

I become involved in the delamination process with Pr. Claude Forano and Dr. Mariko Adachi-Pagano, and was asked to characterize the process and the resulting materials after restacking. The most difficult part was to characterize the remaining solids from the solution and detect the slight changes undergone by the layers after the delamination-restacking process. Conventional techniques fail for such characterizations or give usually an uncomplete picture, and special tools are needed, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) or Small angle X-ray spectroscopy (SAXS), both spectroscopic techniques requiring beam time at a synchrotron radiation facility.

Since 2001, a lot of attention has been paid to these materials with more and more elaborate systems along with new properties. From my own experience, I can see my research leading towards multifunctional materials, strongly orientated by an ever-growing demand towards application expressed from our political institution. As a present group manager, I have to orientate the academic research as well as the applied research. The latter has to feed the former, but our basic knowledge guarantees excellence and the possibility of progress.

There are no obvious direct social implication of my research. However, the goal of most of the materials is to improve property. Some potential applications have implication in our everyday lives, especially in the domains dealing with energy and environment.