Layered double hydroxides are materials that show promise as adsorbing media for ink-jet printing. In this work, layered double hydroxides with nitrate as interlayer anions and with variable Mg:Al molar ratios ranging from 2.2 to 8.1 have been synthesized at constant pH by the coprecipitation method and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption–desorption, scanning electron microscopy, and helium pycnometry techniques. The ability of these materials to adsorb ink-jet inks (BCI-Cyan, BCI-Yellow, and BCI-Magenta) and anionic dyes (CI Acid Blue 9 (AB9), CI Acid Yellow 23 (AY23), and CI Acid Red 37 (AR37)) were investigated. BCI-Yellow was found to have high affinity for material with an Mg:Al molar ratio between 2.2 and 4.0, whereas BCI-Cyan and BCI-Magenta showed a high affinity when the Mg:Al molar ratio was between 4.8 and 5.5. The adsorption isotherms for AB9, AY23, and AR37 on the material with Mg:Al molar ratios 2.2–5.5 exhibited H-type curves, indicating a very strong interaction between the adsorbate and adsorbent. Although there was no clear systematic correlation between the MgsAl molar ratio and the Cm (dye capacity) and Ka (dye affinity), the optimum Mg:Al molar ratio was 4.0, and this material has the potential to be used in Ink-Receptive Layer formulation.
