The structures and mechanical properties of both physically and covalently cross-linked nanocomposite hydrogels made from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and silicate nanoparticles (Laponite RD) are investigated. Injectable nanocomposite precursor solutions can be covalently cross-linked via photopolymerization. The resulting hydrogels are transparent and have interconnected pores, high elongation ...

Highly processable hydrogels loaded with active components for localised drug delivery and/or live cells regenerative medicine are an attractive target biotechnology research. We describe a single-pot precipitation polymerisation of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) from the surface dispersed Laponite® platelets in aqueous media above its lower critical solution temperature (LCST), yielding...

It is proved that every commutative ring whose RD-injective modules are Σ-RD-injective is the product of a pure semi-simple ring and a finite ring. A complete characterization of commutative rings for which each artinian (respectively simple) module is RD-injective, is given. These results can be obtained by using the properties of RD-flat modules and RD-coflat modules which are respectively th...

a r t i c l e i n f o Mineral particles are used in many industrial applications as fillers, in coatings, as ad-and absorbers or in catalysis. In these manifold fields the particle size and shape control the final performance and properties of the minerals. Much has been published using different techniques to describe the aspect ratio of platy particles. This study describes a simple method to...

Polymer-nanoclay composite materials have attracted considerable interest among materials scientists recently because of the pioneering work carried out by a research group in the Toyota Central Research Laboratories. The group applied a nylon-montmorillonite clay nanocomposite as an under-the-hood structural part in the engine compartment of an automobile with significantly improved tensile st...

The neutral organic dye indigo forms an inorganic-organic hybrid material with nanoclays (see picture; blue circles on disks symbolizing indigo, spheres indicating liberated cations) and can thus be transferred into aqueous solution. Solids recovered from these solutions resemble the ancient Maya Blue pigment. The method can also be applied to other hydrophobic species and may open the gate for...

When subjected to large amplitude oscillatory shear stress, aqueous Laponite suspensions show an abrupt solidification transition after a long delay time t(c). We measure the dependence of t(c) on stress amplitude, frequency, and on the age-dependent initial loss modulus. At first sight our observations appear quantitatively consistent with a simple soft-glassy rheology (SGR)-type model, in whi...