“…7 The existence of interlayer anions could compensate for the positive charges that are produced by partial replacement of M 2+ by M 3+ in brucite-like host layers. 8 Due to the easy preparation, flexible structural composition, tunable interlayer space, exchangeable anions and unique physicochemical properties, 1,9,10 LDH have been regarded as attractive materials for a wide range of applications, such as catalysis, 9,11–24 energy storage, 25–31 drug delivery, 32,33 sensors, 34–37 flame retardants, 38 corrosion protection, 39–43 removing pollutants from natural environments, 44–47 preclinical/clinical nanomedicine, 32,33,48 bioimaging, 49 optoelectronic devices, 50 light-emitting applications, 1,51 photodetectors, 52 surface-enhanced Raman scattering, 53 polymer additives, 54 protein separation, 55 ultrafast separation of oil/water mixtures, 56 etc. Since the rational production of LDH is the first and crucial step towards their utilization, considerable research has been conducted over the past decade to explore their synthesis methods.…”