The demand for robust hydrogels in pharmaceutical, biomedical, and industrial applications has motivated intense research efforts in these wet polymeric materials. Recent advances have resulted in different strategies for creating highly stretchable polymeric hydrogels, including sliding-ring gels (SR gels), nanocomposite gels (NC gels), doublenetwork gels (DN gels), macromolecular microsphere ...

-The adsorption on montmorillonite of two monovalent organic cations, methylene blue (MB) and thioflavin T (TFT), was studied in four different situations: (1) separate adsorption of MB or TFT; (2) competitive adsorption of TFT and Cs; (3) competitive adsorption of the two organic cations from their equimolar solutions; and (4) adsorption of TFT on a clay whose cation-exchange capacity (CEC) ha...

Cloisite Na+was used as a solid surfactant (stabilizer) in Pickering emulsion polymerization of styrene-co-butyl acrylate in presence of oil soluble initiator, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and water soluble initiator, potassium persulfate (KPS). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum approved the corporation of Cloisite Na+ layers within the polymer matrix. Effect of clay content was a...

It is difficult for scientists to engineer elastomeric materials that are both strong and tough like spider dragline silk. Inspired by the morphology of spider dragline silk and motivated to develop strong, tough, elastomeric polyurethanes to be used in soldier applications I have prepared polyurethane/clay nanocomposites. Polymer/clay nanocomposites have exhibited great potential for providing...

Conventional biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) are an attractive alternative to replace traditional nondegradable food packaging films which plague the environment. However, PLA has shown not be degradable in some environmentally relevant conditions, including within freshwater systems. Additionally, suffers from very poor barrier properties, could result spoilage. Composit...

This report reviews the technique of layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly, in particular cases involving electrostatic interactions between thin film monolayers. LbL selfassembly is used in a variety of different applications, two of which discussed in the report are LbL MEMS and LbL protein multilayers. In the fabrication of LbL MEMS, multilayers of polymer-clay-magnetite nanocrystal are deposit...

In recent years, Pillared InterLayered Clays (PILCs) have been widely used in several applications; in particular in adsorption and catalysis. The research interest in this family of solids has increased considerably. Clay minerals provide distinct nanometer-scaled layers and interlayers for engineering them as active catalysts. As such, strategic design and preparation has led to a variety of ...

Transport, mechanical and global migration data concern multilayer food packaging films with different layouts, all incorporating a layered silicate/polyamide nanocomposite as oxygen barrier layer, and a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as moisture resistant layer in direct contact with food. The data are related to "Tuning of co-extrusion processing conditions and film layout to optimize the pe...

Hemicelluloses represent a largely unutilized resource for future bioderived films in packaging and other applications. However, improvement of film properties is needed in order to transfer this potential into reality. In this context, sepiolite, a fibrous clay, was investigated as an additive to enhance the properties of rye flour arabinoxylan. Composite films cast from arabinoxylan solutions...